Doubleheader
by N a i. K i r e i. Y u k i
Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru. Mpreg. Under Revision.
1. Déjà vu

_**Summary**__: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru. Mpreg._

_This story is dedicated to Cherry Jade._

_My muse, my best friend, my rock. Hope you like baby girl [: (psssst, &you guys too!)_

_(10/10) Happy Birthday Naruto {:_

_BY: __N__**K**__Y_

_**Naruto**__ 14; __**Sasuke**__ 15_

_Déjà vu._

_**August of Freshman Year, 2 Years Ago**__**,**_

"Sasuke, lemon peppers," Naruto grumbled. He could virtually taste the non-existent, but fowl smelling aroma caressing his tongue. The sensation caused a small brush blaze of disgust to bubble on his nettled taste buds, a small breach of discord initiating the classic stomach lurch. Even though he couldn't quite place the scent that commanded his full attention, he still mentally explored the possibilities of this offending nausea. If he had an infection, he was sure the pain wouldn't be this excruciating. It rendered his senses stupefied and he was sure it was close to causing a major disaster. Said disaster consisted of: him practically hurling his guts on the carpet beneath his feet.

He prayed that didn't occur. Frankly, he didn't fancy cleaning up messes—especially ones that involved his own stomach juices. Such a travesty would ruin his health even further. Just the thought of kneeling over, his head hanging low made the acid in his belly gurgle. So, for his sake, he held in the acidic gurgle in the back of his throat, wishing for its speedy dissipation. So at least no one would have to attend to the muddle of regurgitated meals on the floor - especially not Sasuke Uchiha.

He would deluge in the male's displeasure, head first. He couldn't imagine the extent of the congealed scowl on that painfully gorgeous face of his. The nearest he could envision was a cross between Satan and McGruff the crime dog. A mixture he wasn't optimistic of having the delight of seeing.

Irked, the small boy shifted on the silky, ebony eight thousand thread count sheets, trying to adapt to the plush materials of the mattress and find a comfortable medium. Unsuccessful, he pulled his knees to his chest, and then crossed them – only to find nothing appeased him or even sparked the slightest hint of relief. For a moment, his frustration turned to the mattress. If the mattress had some damn resistance, he wouldn't be grappling to find the least miserable position on the cotton candy cloud residing in Candyland. Concurrently, the tingle of the adventurous sexual and haywire speculation coincided and he sporadically remembered the unambiguous reason Sasuke purchased a Temperpedic in the first place. Chronologically, like a film player he recalled the irresistible urge to stamp PERVERT on his boyfriend's forehead.

He mentally snorted, frankly deterred by how the uneventful evening progressed.

Sasuke had caught his waist in an air tight sealed grip and kissed him smack on the lips at the school gates, which was Sasuke's implicit way of persuading him to hang out at his house for the remainder of the day. Naruto obliged, not seeing a reason not to. The Uchiha residence was equivalent to a secondary household anyway. He could relocate there tomorrow and feel perfectly at home. Luckily, Sasuke's mother and father were always very welcoming and accommodating of him when he his stayed over, even when he arrived unannounced, which was a good thing. It was splendid spending time with Sasuke in his domestic environment—oddly... liberating.

Eating a quick snack, they retreated to Sasuke's bedroom. Although nothing of a substantial sexual nature occurred, a few kisses, a few touches here and there, he could tell by the prurient expression on Sasuke's face and the manner in which he traced the waist band of his shorts that Sasuke wished to indulge in more. But for some reason, he suppressed the urge and suspended himself from the thought, removing himself from his pelvis. Naruto was disappointed to say the least, but said nothing. Interestingly enough, he didn't want Sasuke to feel that the level of intimacy in their relationship was unsatisfactory. He received hugs and kisses galore, without asking for them. He assassinated the inner controversy of the veritable truth. He Sasuke didn't need to have sex to feel intimate, close, or familiar with one another. Sasuke's love was all consuming - pure - and Naruto could attest to that. Considering he witnessed in all its different shades. It didn't take a matter of Sasuke being inside him for the realization to dawn on him.

Though Sasuke had gotten on his laptop, they still maintained a conversation, albeit meaningless friendly chatter. They have had a multitude of them throughout their years. It wasn't that they didn't have anything to talk about; it just meant not many words had to be exchanged between them when they were together. It was a blessing in disguise.

They had eventually ceased any form of discussion as night quickly approached the west side, a veil dispersing across the sky as a greatly anticipated, mystically shimmery blanket of perpetual darkness arrived as the sun took its leave. The room drifted into a serene silence as Sasuke researched on the computer and Naruto laid on the bed they shared, reeling in his thoughts, reveling in how precious it was to find a person where words were superfluous, and contentment was discovered in absolute silence with no obligation to fill the space to intrigue the other. A place where the other's presence was commensurable. Monotony would star in their show- you can never tire of your destined one and only. Sanctified eternal flames can never be extinguished. Despite future contention.

He had discovered a union devoid of flaws—an extension of himself.

(3 years this month since they became an item)

Naruto's breath shortened, a smile immerging as he afforded a glimpse at the toned muscles, aberrant alabaster skin, tousled silken obsidian locks framing the features that possessed unparalleled beauty and grace, the aristocratic, narrow nose, pert, nude-shaded lips, and those crystalline gray eyes that always managed to have individuals misconstruing his introspective glance for flirtation, as they mysteriously glided over them. Naruto smiled harder because only **he** knew of Sasuke's **true** lustful gaze.

Naruto twisted on his back, rolling onto his side, unconsciously gripping the sleek bed sheets between his fingers. A few meters away, Naruto's eyes had stretched over Sasuke's arrangement as he tentatively tapped on the sturdy chestnut desk and muttered a consecutive flow words as if he was reading something informative. His eyes were fixed to the screen and his tongue peeked out and swept over his lower lip, almost in a seductive, enticing manner.

Naruto couldn't help but recollect how Sasuke's lips always felt like dewy flourishing, rose petals as they caressed over his own -or where ever they grazed- creating friction, a dam of desire, and aggrandizing his appetite.

Naruto was glad Sasuke didn't catch his stare because he might be pressured to look away and realize his lips were stained a ridiculous red from the rash chewing he somehow managed to sustain. Heat coiled, blood burned as his arousal feasted on the domiciliary view of his longtime boyfriend.

A smirk resurfaced as the thought that maybe he could get Sasuke to sleep with him despite the stunt of self-restraint he displayed earlier in the afternoon. All it would take was little seducing - a lascivious glance, maybe a low purr and Sasuke would be silly putty.

Besides, he adored seeing Sasuke's face screwed in such a forbidden, inscrutable amount of pleasure, his eyes shut tight, lips agape, dark matted hair dampened by the sweat, and the animalistic groans and grunts resonant against the shell of his ear. God, nothing got him off more than Sasuke getting off on an exhilarated height of ecstasy.

Top or not; Sasuke was still subjugated to his benevolent mercy because without him, Sasuke couldn't hope to achieve such a gratifying orgasm.

He needed Sasuke's direct intimacy - inside him, impetuously pounding into him, making him plead, whimper, scream, cry. Fuck, the sentimental bullshit he reasoned earlier. Ugh, he was in crisis!

Unfortunately, all plans were thrown when he went to stand. He pursued a struggle and was easily defeated as he plopped back to the bed like a useless stack of potatoes.

He was supposed to get laid but the singeing discomfort in his lower stomach returned.

Brain nerves throbbed against his skull and his forehead spiked with the agony of slimy perspiration.

His vision blurred, fading in and out of transmission.

He shut his eyes and remained tentative on each necessary breath and tried to be ignorant of the insurmountable rolling currents of blazing electricity penetrating his previous state of tranquility.

"Lemon peppers?" Sasuke gave Naruto an incredulous glance, turning to him in the leather computer chair. He instantly noticed the flushed cheeks, and heaps of hot sticky sweat compile on his forehead, his fringe of flaxen blond matting to his sweaty forehead as he slumped on his mattress with a hard frown on his pouty pink lips. Naruto sighed, pressing the heel of his hands between his eyes appearing to be facing some type of vision impairment.

Feeling an array of emotions, predominantly worry and alarm, he tensed and corrected his posture, biting on the inside of his lip trying to sate his mind's rampage of possible scenarios. Did he have the flu? A bug? An infection? A multitude could be wrong but he was trying to narrow it down based on the symptoms. A soft reverberation broke through his chain of deduction.

"I want some—I don't care where. On chicken—on cereal. I don't care. Just lemon peppers—I need lemon peppers," he murmured in a low edgeless tone as he rubbed at his eyes with great vigor, hoping to regain some type of focus in his vision.

Sasuke flinched at Naruto's odd request.

He knew Naruto had… a unique taste in his choice of cuisines but this had to be the most uncharacteristic of them all. His eating habits were particularly uncouth and far from normal so maybe this wasn't stone's throw away from his usual preferences. On the norm, yes, he would eat ramen with hot sauce and yes, the idiot would eat pizza with a self-made curry. Usually every meal lacked nutritious substance, consisting of pure empty calories with batches of sugar and trans fats. Since vegetables were engraved on Naruto's shit list, he spent ample times emphasizing they were not going to make it anywhere near his mouth. He created a fuss larger than the average person when it came to eating anything that even was remotely related to 'good health' or part of the vegetable family. Something had to be wrong if Naruto was requesting anything paralleled with fiber or naturally grown from mother Earth. He wasn't even sure himself that Naruto was aware precisely what 'lemon peppers' were and how they would corroborate with his tongue's personal preferences.

Fleetingly, Sasuke thought that maybe Naruto was joking. His endearing sense of humor always tended to be random and spontaneous but with his heavy panting and convincing apperception of discontentment, the intended punch line didn't seem to be landing. Not with him, at least.

A pained grunt escaped the smaller boy and Sasuke frowned. He was serious.

Naruto's stomach welled with more discomfort and then he felt the bed suddenly dip beside him and a light stroke delicately kiss his hot cheek. A clear smile climbed on his mouth at the doting, intimate contact. He loved that Sasuke could be so tender with him, especially when he needed it the most. It still made his chest burst— like fireworks, rainbows, and a budding garden of delicate flowers all at once—even after all these years.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke whispered, shattering the looming silence.

Sasuke's cool fingers acted as an ice compact as he cupped his cheek, brushing the loose blond baby hairs by his ears.

"Yeah, m'alright," he whispered back hoarsely, his throat urgently requesting a surge of water. From anywhere. As long as it ended up in his mouth, it didn't really matter. His impressive sapphires fluttered open, platinum walloping Neptune when the clash occurred, like two colliding ocean waves, beyond evidence of understanding and love and devotion, Sasuke's heart settled on one distinct emotion—astonishment. He felt his heart halt and his ribcage gain temporary reprieve from the constant thrashing and smarting in his spine.

The familiar captivation heightened the rapture he so willingly submitted to the marvel his beautiful lover caused. It was still the same after all these years…

Sasuke tangled pale, nimble fingers in his golden shaggy spikes and pulled the small boy to his chest. "Are you sure?" Sasuke right hand traveled from his hair, skillfully trailing the top of his spine, lulling Naruto's eyes closed again. He found comfort on the firm body supporting him. He sighed, pressing his head under the Uchiha's chin.

"Yeah, I'm okay Sasuke…" Naruto drawled, slapping his hands on Sasuke's solid chest with slight exasperation. "You worry too much. You know I'm…" His mind drew a big, white blank and he fiddled with Sasuke's black cotton t-shirt in hopes of pulling out the specific word from thin air that would appropriately fit his self-description. Sadly, his headache prevented him from thinking properly, suppressing any incoherent thought causing Sasuke to doubt his better judgment about his health.

"Impulsive?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow looking at the relaxed boy in his chest.

"Uh, yeah, that word." Naruto answered quickly, hoping Sasuke would brush it off as one of his daily gaffes.

Sasuke didn't answer but instead stroked the hairs on the back of the younger's neck in a soothing, nurturing fashion. Naruto gave an approving purr and felt his ailment ebb slightly, grateful that—

"You feel feverish." Naruto wasn't sure when Sasuke's hand reached his forehead, pushing his sticky bangs aside.

"It's not a big deal; I'm just a little under the weather." Naruto really did try to convince his boyfriend that he didn't feel like pile of shit in his arms, which was clearly a lie. His weak attempt failed. Sasuke insisted he see a doctor as he reiterated that he conventionally never got sick.

"'I promise, I'll be okay. It's not like it's life threatening or anything."

Sasuke growled but didn't press the issue any further, not wanting to stress the weak, groggy blond. Maybe all he needed was some rest and he would snap back like a rubber band in the morning. He had to.

"I'm probably just tired," Naruto offered, looking up into the resistant dark eyes. He batted his long eyelashes, glistening with a shimmer of hope.

"Hn."

Naruto released the breath that he didn't even know he was holding in. He was relieved Sasuke wasn't going to drag him to the hospital to sit and wait lengthy, exhausting hours in an overcrowded waiting room for an impersonal possibly under qualified doctor to assist them. It wasn't Naruto's ideal version of "healthcare" and he was certain Sasuke would come to the same conclusion just as quickly, if not faster. He would just end up demanding they receive assistance first, regardless of the severity of other patient's various illnesses, relentlessly hassle the hospital night shift staff until someone successfully diagnosed and treated Naruto, to his satisfaction of course.

That was Sasuke Uchiha for you - controlling, aloof, and impatient just not towards him. Fortunately, he had earned the clearance to live on Sasuke soft and squishy side. He grinned the day he got the full set of keys - and he had to say that it had way more than anything Earth ever had to offer.

"Do you want some water?" Sasuke asked gripping his right shoulder with a comfortable amount of pressure.

Naruto swished his tongue around in his mouth, feeling the lack of moisture. He smiled with triumph.

"Water sounds good, S'ske."

…

Naruto swore this had to be some kind of ritual.

Hands pressed together, eyes shut tight, "shrine" below him - on the sink's edge.

He didn't pray often and neither did anyone he knew. There seemed to be an epidemic in the absence of religion where his friends and families were concerned.

He presumed that it was never instilled -rather enforced- into him when he was younger like morals or strong character traits had been.

He could affirm he was a solid believer in miracles. Especially when his father, Minato Namikaze, ran for mayor as the underdog, considering he was the opposing candidate and a democratic liberal running against the unpopular incumbent republican, Orochimaru Harushima. His father offered real change on every position, remaining firm and proposing drastic overhauls on Medicare and increases of the availability of government entitlement programs. It left so many voters of all age groups undecided, partially because they were unsure of what would become of his political pedestal if he were to win the office. Even after all the fundraisers and political rallies he held in hopes of progressing his campaign and expanding his base, he still remained low in the polls.

Naruto praised his father's hard work but also ridiculed him, accusing his father of being too soft and not participating for the purpose of winning but solely to get his name on the mind of the public. Orochimaru's political rhetoric was brutal and borderline slander but his father refused to stoop to the man's level. Naruto commended his father for committing an honest campaign but it didn't stop him from complaining about his father's lack of distinguishing views about helping struggling people in their city. Naruto thought it was almost surefire way to go home with a losing hand on Election Day in November.

It even looked gloomier on Election Day.

The initial reporting precincts favored Orochimaru and his campaign, leaving him with the majority of the vote.

Naruto remembered how hard he clutched his can of orange soda in his dad's campaign office as his eyes were glued to the local television channel's incoming results. He was so fixated and perpetually plagued with an oncoming depression that he couldn't hear the chatter and racket surrounding him. He couldn't believe these people were thinking of giving this man the title of mayor who hadn't done a shred of good for them. His father was the obviously the better candidate and endowed with much better character. Minato's optimism alone made him worthy of the victory over the other corrupted politician. He wanted his father to win. He deserved to win.

The following memory must not have formed because all Naruto could recollect was the obscene hollering he did in his mother's face and the dulling of his hearing because of the screeches from the campaign workers.

His father had won.

He never in his wildest dreams anticipated his father winning the race by such a wide margin.

It made him a believer in miracles just as much as Vegas showgirls believed in glitter.

But religion... not so much.

He always believed things just happened, not because of anyone or anything's doing, but just because they did. He had never factored in a higher power brewing the stew of life right under his nose without him smelling it.

He had heard somewhere that prayer was the language of a man in need. He never took the time to find out if that were true.

Until now.

He was speaking a needy language. So needy, it was desperate.

He needed prayer to lift his spirits.

It was no secret prayer lifted human spirits. And his spirits were in need of exaltation.

Like now.

It was a foreign practice for him because he had never done this before. But it never too late to start.

He gradually opened one blue eye.

Eight.

Clearblue Pregnancy tests.

On the sink's edge.

He looked at himself in the mirror, feeling his skin burn a degree of two hotter.

He was noticeably paler, his skin a twinge of yellow, blue eyes appearing irrevocably altered to an unceasing tortured sapphire night, and his body—particularly his torso—was plumper than he remembered, his lean physique was blasted into the past. He tried to convince himself that he didn't look disheveled but his methods of deceiving himself soon became obsolete, just like his "steady" body weight.

He slept more often and was more sluggish than usual. His natural vitality and robust charisma was indolently hampered by a cloud of chronic fatigue. His energy was depleted to below zero. He was pickier about his food choices. He craved foods with carbohydrates and simple as well complex sugars. The thought of ramen made his stomach churn, leaving his hands tied.

It was like there was a leach draining the very life from him. Literally.

For the first time in his life, Naruto wished it was the flu. It would all be so much easier to handle. He could take the prescribed medication needed, stocking up on healthy food, and recuperate on the sofa. And he wouldn't mind eating one morsel of it.

Because he would just be glad he wasn't pregnant.

He cringed at the words in his head.

They sounded so... real. Though the intimidating reality didn't dwindle because of the perceivable channels of reality.

He had seen pregnant woman on the street, smiled at them, respected them from a far, bemusedly ogled their baby bumps, held open doors for them, and even helped them down stairs.

During his Good Samaritan deeds, it never occurred to him that in an instant he could potentially be in that woman's place.

Now that it was more than feasible, cravings, cramps, and head pains, he was fucking horrified.

His mother informed some time ago about his medical anomaly, around the ripe age of 10, when he was unusually young. She had set him down and from the expression on her face he could tell she was serious. She wasn't her usual loud, humorous self, but more refined, fortitude dead set in her marine blue eyes. Naruto couldn't deny he wasn't the least bit scared, because he was. With eyes looking uncannily like a fickle replication of the bright moon, he suffered a violent fidget when his mother placed her hand on his shoulder and sternly said, 'Naruto, you can get pregnant.'

Naruto responded as any child would: bombarding her with an inquisitive barrage of questions.

He had no idea what she was talking about and he wanted answers.

Age was a minor complication… seeing as he couldn't even spell sex.

She smiled and began to explain. Apparently, a great uncle in the Uzumaki family line carried a mutated recessive gene that enabled the male receiver to carry children to full term. He was born with a small pouch in his inner plumbing, also considered a uterus in medical, 'doctory' terms, the area that hosted the fetus. She also explained that like a woman, he had completely operational internal genitalia, including fallopian tubes and a functioning cervix.

Ultimately he was classified as unisex baby, with predominantly male traits. She wished to write so on his birth certificate, but was discouraged by the doctor and her own husband. They were trying to prevent early gender confusion, proven to lead to adolescent hardships and depression later on in life.

Naruto recalled being confused. So he was a boy and a girl?

She mentioned that she feared the plight of this situation, though there was nothing she could ever do that would reverse nature. She said she had no preference to the gender he ultimately chose to date but she did stress he be married and in love before he did take that crucial but irreversible step in a romantic relationship.

Naruto listened - to the practical half of her request.

He did wait until was in love...

But not married because he was much too young to marry and he was uncertain of the prospects of marrying, Sasuke, Sasuke Uchiha.

Another boy.

He was from an influential, affluent family, his father being: Fugaku Uchiha, productive stock negotiator, and the Police chief for nearly a decade, Minato's right hand man.

Naruto remembered wishing on the lucid nocturnal display of stars decorating the sky as he ran home night that his mother kept her promise of not caring which sex of the object of his affection was.

He was still for what felt like an eternity compelled that a pregnancy consisted of another person - a little baby, a boy or a girl - another whole human being. A life besides his own that would needed to be tended to, with just as much care and contingency like his parents did.

He wasn't sure he could provide that, not at his age anyways.

And Sasuke.

What would Sasuke say? If it was true he was P, double N?

Naruto's toes curled on the cold bathroom tile.

Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke.

What if Sasuke didn't want the baby?

A beep stole Naruto from his labyrinth of non-conducive musings. His head snapped down the sink, his gaze widening.

Positive. Positive. Positive. Positive. Positive. Positive. Positive. Positive.

A gallon of doom drilled down to the atomic structural level of Naruto's organs. He crumbled to the gleaming tile floor in a vacant mosh of fear and dithered pandemonium, weeping like the day he was born.

**Today was the first day of the rest of his life.**

…

It felt like 12 years since the pregnancy test fiasco, but had only been twelve hours. With the restless tossing and turning thanks to his cramps, the increase of his sweaty anxiety, it made everything feel so much longer. Sleep was an impossible mission, a fantasy behind the horizon of nine grueling months.

He stumbled into the class, feeling like everyone was peculiarly staring at him like he grew a pair of horns.

Was there something wrong with his simple t-shirt? Or the way he slunk in his casual gray sweat pants? Or the way he laced his black Chuck Taylors? Instead of barking at the supposed culprits of the crime, he maturely chalked the spark of insecurity to his raging hormones. It wasn't his fault he was feeling aggravated and vicious this fine morning.

They always paid too much attention to him.

Shouldering through bystanders, he got to his assigned seat.

He felt like he swam across the fucking Bermuda Triangle just to get to first period Geometry safe and sound. His legs were Russian molasses coming up the flights of stairs. He was exhausted and it was barely 8:30 in the morning.

He didn't bother searching for Sasuke, Gaara, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, or Sai in the chaos of students. It was too wearisome and conversing wasn't a top priority today.

He did feel bad for lackadaisically replying to Sasuke's texts but it was nothing personal. He just wasn't looking forward to seeing Sasuke.

"Naruto."

Speak of the devil.

Sasuke pulled up a chair to Naruto. The blond looked over at his boyfriend, clad in a white tee, black skinnies; presumably wearing the new black and white high-top Nikes he had shown him last month. Fresh to death as usual.

Sasuke reached over to whisper against his temple. "Are you still sick?"

"No, I'm okay, Sasuke. Just tired."

Sasuke paused. "Are you sure?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah."

Sasuke pressed a kiss on his temple, finding his teacher assigned seat across the room.

In a few minutes, after the initial bell rung and the teacher turned off the lights for the overhead projection assignment, Naruto's hand shot into the air, with a sense of emergency. "Teacher, can I go to the bathroom? **Please**?"

Sensing the emergency from the younger boy, he allowed it.

Naruto bolted to the nearest bathroom.

He shoved a bathroom stall door open, hovering over the toilet drying heaving.

He didn't eat anything this morning to even throw up. His surge of cramps intensified to needle jerks in his lower stomach.

Naruto covered his mouth careful not to make a sound. Never knew who would hear him.

"Naruto, come out."

Naruto froze, his big blues trembling with fear. The pain spiked lower body at the surprise.

Naruto tried to compose himself, filtering out the twin pounding in both ears.

He faced the Uchiha, a concealed face of guilt playing on his beautiful features.

Sasuke advanced from the bathroom entrance. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Masterpieces of sculpted iron observed Naruto looked normal to the untrained eye with the exception his unfocused pupils and ruby dusted cheeks.

Naruto tensed, remaining neutral. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do," Ice frosted Sasuke's aloof accusatory tone.

"Actually I don't—" Naruto huffed.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke glared.

"I just didn't—"

"Just didn't what?" Sasuke's eyes fell and rose on the five foot one figure.

"Would you stop interrogating me and let me fucking talk? I'm in here because I'm pregnant," He accidentally blurted, regretting the mistake. The silence that ensued in the room was so sharp it could effortlessly slice the universe in half.

Sasuke's thin eyebrows furrowed, the argumentative streak draining from the pores in his colorless skin, his speechlessness driving all hopes from the smaller boy looking up to him.

Naruto's mouth twisted into a morose, insightful smile, unusually calm for the subtle rejection. "I should have known."

He moved to leave the restroom when Sasuke prevented him by imprisoning his elbow. "Come here."

"Get off me." Naruto growled with a rough draw of his arm.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke tried not to stumble over his words.

Naruto felt his stare contort into subzero permafrost, diminishing the temperature an entire 10 degrees. "I took eight pregnancy tests. Eight of them, Sasuke."

"And they were all positive," Sasuke lowered head, whispering the confirmation to himself more than Naruto.

He firmly held Naruto in place, distrusting of his unpredictable temper.

"Yes," Naruto confirmed in a light tone as Sasuke trustingly released him.

"But Sasuke, how? We always use protection." Naruto searched for an inscribed answer on the ceiling, thrusting his hand through short shaggy gold hair.

"Condoms break all the time, Naruto. They're not a guaranteed way to prevent pregnancy."

Naruto dished an apologetic glance.

"You're scared," he said more as a statement than a question.

"Very," Naruto hastily admitted with a groan.

"Naruto, you **know** I hate repeating myself… I already told you in the event you get pregnant; I wasn't going to run from it. I did tell you that. Didn't I?" Sasuke stepped closer, his mesmerizing gaze detaining Naruto with binding steel chains.

"Yes, yes, you did." Tears accumulated in Naruto's defenseless blue eyes, resisting the temptation to move any closer.

Sasuke pulled Naruto into a tight embrace, warding off any escape attempt. "And I meant every word of it."

"I love you," Naruto choked out into Sasuke's chest.

"I love you too." Naruto smiled at the immediate answer, clutching the back of Sasuke's blue shirt like a lifeline as he felt Sasuke's hand slip to his tummy.

"But our parents…"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

He thought about it transiently, trying to eliminate it from the forefront of his memory banks. Not realizing that in Sasuke's arms, he couldn't possibly foresee the storm on the other end.

…

_Trust me; this was just the icebreaker…;3_

_I promise originality with this fic._

_Shoot me a review, please (;_

_Hey, I said please._

_NKY._


	2. Premonition of Pain

Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru.

CH**02:**Premonition of Pain

_**School Courtyard—August**_

_During a lunch break, they calculatedly isolated themselves in the destitute section of the courtyard, hidden away from the student population so they could engross in the latest addition to their relationship and make sense of everything._

_Under the shadowy brush of trees, Naruto asked,__ "So you're not mad?" His small fingers neatly arranged Sasuke's bangs astride his forehead whilst a spear of vulnerability punctured the supposed casual question. The proprietary cocoon Sasuke established channeled consolation and comfort into the majestically rueful creature trapped between the pocket of his arms and the tall oak tree. Said boy ceased digging his right heel into the excessively mossy hill, his primping right hand falling to his side, pending the answer._

_"__Don't be ridiculous. Of course not."_

_Naruto's look cooled. "That's… a relief."_

_"__Hn, I've been meaning to ask…" Sasuke's lowered his gape to the full lips quivering in wonderment,__ A batch of c__uriosity culminated in ripe blueberry eyes, oblivious to the thin mist of lust layering his boyfriend's mischievous face._

_"__Spend the night, tonight?" Naruto squawked as Sasuke swiftly seized his waist without forewarning._

"_I won't take no for an answer," Sasuke mumbled gruffly, his nose brushing the other's, taunting the yearning mouth._

"_Fucking tease—I was gonna say yes." Naruto's tilted his chin to meet the soft pair of lips beckoning his own._

_Sasuke complied, before gently separated from the wanton pile of tenacity below him. "That's what I like to hear."_

…

"_Scoot over," Naruto demanded, thwacking Sasuke's face with one of the two pillows._

_Astute about the sinister growl, Naruto slumped to the bed._

_Amid the deed of moving over for the blond, he threateningly glared._

_Naruto relaxed flat on his back with a satisfied wriggle into the sheets. A blue eye peaked over at Sasuke, a smugness assimilating his countenance. "Uh, uh, uh. I'm pregnant with your child, which means… retaliation is forbidden—at least until the little tike is born."_

_Sasuke grunted and glanced back at the flat screen hung on the opposite wall._

_They laid next to each other as the sounds of the television show danced throughout the thick silence._

"_So, um, S'ske… what do we do when this baby is born?"_

_Sasuke side glanced him. "Take care of them?"_

_Naruto's detriment sprouted. "You cynical bastard, I'm being serious. What about school? And like diapers and clothes and baby bottles?" Naruto felt the edge of the cashmere pillowcase, glad his stomach settled so they could finally discuss the matter in detail._

"_I can change school arrangements and stay home with the baby…" Naruto pressed the auxiliary offer._

"_You mean drop out of high school?" Sasuke asked, trying to confirm where Naruto was trying to navigate the conversation._

"_No, not drop out—but like maybe attend online school or something?" He turned to Sasuke, inspecting his reaction._

"_You don't have to leave high school, Naruto."_

"_I know, but I can do online school in the morning and then take care of the baby the rest of the day."_

"_You'd be willing to do that?"_

"_Yeah, I would. It'd be great bonding and I… wouldn't have to miss them or worry during the day… Because honestly, the idea of someone else babysitting our baby makes my stomach queasy… y'know?"_

_Sasuke found Naruto's hand. "How cute. You're already becoming an overprotective mom."_

_The comment couldn't have been anymore condescending than the tone that Sasuke said it in._

"_Shut up," Naruto frowned. "At least__**you**__won't have to quit your honor classes or… football," Naruto's voice lowered, as he tried hide the clandestine spike of stricken timidity._

_Sasuke squeezed his soft hand, matching Naruto's tone. "What about soccer, Naruto? It's a cardinal part of your life and I know how much it means to you."_

"_But you're more important me… And I'd sacrifice anything for you." Naruto turned to his lover with a tortured smile. "And... I do love the sport with an undying passion but it's insignificant compared to the health and security of my child and second to your happiness."_

"_I respect how mature you are." Sasuke propped himself onto his elbow, pulling Naruto's hand to kiss. "And I love even more how much you love me."_

"_Thank you, S'ske."_

_Sasuke pulled a thoughtful expression, threading his digits into Naruto's._

"_I think Kakashi would give me more hours in the garage if I…explain our predicament. I'll try to rake in more customers for cushion cash."_

"_Cushion cash?"_

"_I already make enough to fund all baby expenses. But I have to make sure you have enough money for all your necessities."_

_Naruto seemed to ease at the thought and touched Sasuke's neck tenderly. "Sole provider. Does that sound…__**scary...**____to__**you**__?"_

"_Not in the slightest." Naruto could feel the generation authenticity of Sasuke's statement filtering through his gray eyes. "Actually quite the contrary, it actually makes me feel proud."_

_Not that the Uchiha needed an excuse to stroke his own ego._

_The intense stare colored Naruto's cheeks strawberry red as he draped the silk sheet over his fingers, inhaling in a brisk wisp of air._

"_I can't believe it. We're__**having**__a baby." Naruto gleefully summarized, lighting the room up like an eternal candle._

_Sasuke's hand journeyed to the shoulder blades of the younger boy, coaxing his mouth down for a simple kiss._

_Something about Naruto's pregnancy made him want to love him even more—not sexually—platonically._

_Sasuke's opaque prescience wasn't blinding him at all. He saw Naruto smiling with a baby in his arms, cooing at the small bundle of joy._

_And the image was glorious._

_He was more than glad he could grant Naruto such enjoyment, even though it was by accident._

_He reached to kiss the soon—to—be mother of his child one last time before he spoke. "I've always thought about it, ever since you told me you could have children."_

_Naruto's stomach knotted as he forced down his stutters. "You mean you've wanted…to start a family… with me?"_

_Sasuke's sleek dark locks shagged around his face as he rested his head in his left hand, a lazy smile quirked on his lips. "To put it mildly."_

_Naruto tackled Sasuke back down to the bed, his full weight baring down on him. "I can't wait to give you a baby."_

_Naruto kissed at the juncture of Sasuke's neck and shoulder, heating his skin._

_Sasuke's breath hesitated in his lungs. "You mean give__**us**__a baby."_

…

_Blue eyes._

_Big innocent blue eyes._

_Sasuke watched, harmlessly drifting in the pool water._

_Hopefully, their child had striking winsome azures like their beautiful mom—who happened covering his cerulean treasures up with a stupid pair of Ray Ban shades._

_The setting sun blazed over the California mountainous horizon, stretching into the fluent waves of clear pool water and the granite pillars of the terrace._

_Naruto was seated on the edge of slated pool's edge, kicking his perforated cuffed capris jeaned legs in the warm water._

_"Did they fucking forget where the pool house is? It's been like an hour and a half." Naruto irely scrunched his nose._

_"Knowing Kiba, the fucker probably made the wrong turn at Albuquerque with Shikamaru and Chouji in the back seat trying to decipher the map."_

_"Even though that sounds increasingly unlikely, I can still depict it in my head perfectly." Naruto was in awe; only Sasuke could make him grind his mental gears to exhaustion with his impractical scenarios._

_"That's because you're discovering it's fact not fiction."_

_"Heh, maybe."_

"_Are you coming in the water?" Sasuke careered to Naruto._

_Naruto observed the interchangeable hues of violet, torrents of sapphires, delaying the immediate answer of Sasuke's question. It always served as quick entertainment to absorb the curves of impatient resentment twisting on the corner of his mouth, marring his indifferent personality._

"_No, I don't feel like it…" Naruto admitted distantly, distractedly pushing his shades up._

"_Why? Do you have cramps again?"_

"_No…" The slight breeze hauled the brisk wonders off to yonder. "I feel…mm…okay today."_

"_Then," Sasuke pulled off the unnecessary pair of shades, "Come in."_

_Sasuke's heart leapt at the innate clarity of the aquamarine gems. Beaming. So lively. So defiant._

_Yes. Their child definitely had to have those eyes._

"_I said no."_

_Sasuke watched the birth of agitation on the gorgeous fox-shaped face. Anticipation hiked in the warm air as Sasuke discarded of the glasses to the poolside goadingly._

_Naruto allowed the Uchiha to dampen his pants with droplets trickling from the splash adventure but that's all he was permitting to get wet._

"_I'm not a fish, and this is not a shower. I'm__**not**__coming in." Naruto's eyes narrowed even further at Sasuke's complacent foreboding attitude._

_Sasuke remained quiescent, his index finger tracing his bronze velour calves._

"_I'm not," Naruto grittily reiterated._

"_Alright."_

_Naruto was revoltingly irresistible when he was being stubborn._

"_You don't have to come in voluntarily because—" A rapid jerk and an explosion of water erupted the solemn tranquil of the water. He had no time to shriek at the surprise attack as a mouthful of chlorinated water sought fill of his gaping mouth. Naruto struggled to the surface, concerned about his buoyancy, sputtered out the clear liquid frantically._

_He clamored the water with his fists, disbelieving of the soggy garments clinging to his body as tightly as a second layer of skin._

"_Sasuke! I said I__**didn't**__want to come in!"_

_Sasuke torpidly admired the pouty lips posed in a fiery jamboree of satanic rage and the textured fringe of sunshine framing the semblance of perfection attached to the swan-like neck._

_Flawless._

_Sasuke disregarded the blossoming ferocity and serenaded the wet kitten, summoning his finger pads to the submerged torso. He drew the paddling boy closer, priding on the reflexive grip he secured around his neck._

"_You bastard, you know I can't swim." Sasuke smirked at the fussy cool to his hot head._

_Sasuke balanced Naruto in his strong arms, preventing him from subduing to the water ripples. "How about learning?"_

"_I don't care for water."_

"_But swimming is good for the pregnancy. It reduces fatigue and regulates oxygen circulation in the body, tones muscles and helps you sleep much better," Sasuke informed righteously._

_Silence consumed the fourteen year old as he digested the facts. "You could have just said that, so I could have at least considered it or maybe even dressed for the occasion."_

"_Where would be fun in that? The best things in life are spontaneous," Sasuke mused._

"_Spontaneous? Streaking is spontaneous. Car jackings are spontaneous. The big bang was spontaneous. This? Premeditated fuckery." Naruto glared refraining from kiss distance. He didn't want to be undermined with a kiss, something Sasuke periodically did to silence his anger._

_Sasuke's "fun" actually constituted the notorious doghouse—for disobedience._

"_Furthermore—if you wanted to see the contours of my body, you could've just asked." Naruto traded a hostile card for a seductive one when he felt Sasuke's hand venture to his exposed back._

"_Consider this asking." Sasuke embellished the wet mouth with a hoard of delectable kisses, his tongue coaxing Naruto's, teasingly gliding across the aggressive muscle as a shard of lust tapering away the previous abstention Sasuke attempted to uphold in honor of Naruto's adjustment to pregnancy; but there was only so much sexual deprivation he could weather._

_Naruto suddenly pulled away, panting with half-lidded, salacity darkened eyes. Comforting his legs on Sasuke's pelvis bone, he attacked the flesh coating Sasuke's adam's apple, nails biting into the weight-training toned shoulders. A concurrent massage of Naruto's chest apprised the blond of the heat seeking missiles twisting at the erect nipples trapped behind the thin sticky cotton fabric._

_A faint gasp from the pregnant blond reunited Sasuke with the teetering brink of reality._

"_Mm," Naruto removed his canines from the throat and reclined to caressing the pale neck with soft lips. "Don't stop," the plead came out more like a fervent demand._

"_But they're coming soon," Sasuke's weak choppy voice reminded him._

"_Don't tell me you're scared?" Sasuke could feel the mocking smile coil against his jugular._

"_Who said I was?" Sasuke retorted._

"_You did. Short term memory loss, Uchiha? You're the one who said the best things in life are spontaneous."_

_Sasuke assumed that to be a double entendre for this unexpected trench of desire and the batch of stars expanding in his belly every day._

_No matter the implication—it lit Sasuke's lantern._

_In the throes of imperiled pride, Sasuke thrust Naruto against the cemented pool periphery, unbuckling Naruto's white leather belt hastily, pleasured to find Naruto free of undergarments._

"_Commando?" Sasuke deliberated, breathless, then brandishing the dazed blond with a chaste kiss._

_Naruto kissed back softly, "Hm, let's just say you're not as spontaneous as you think you are." Naruto onto the ledge of purchase, his free arm locked around the Uchiha's neck._

_Naruto's raspy response rang bells of truth but left Sasuke wondering if his urges were obvious even though he tried to privatize temptation._

_Naruto shimmed out of his right pant leg, his hand delving into Sasuke's trunks, kneading the erection slowly._

_Naruto's ears trained to Sasuke's low hiss of pleasure as he pressed his thumb into the slit, examining the personal cinematograph of expressions crossing Sasuke's face: Gratification. Staid. Contentious revenge?_

_A hit of pleasure invaded Naruto as fingers curled beyond his entrance. A slice of pain severed his stroking pace on Sasuke's member but it quickly disappeared._

_Sasuke aluminum gray eyes challenged Naruto's attempt at dominance as he created a constant rhythm in the sweet orifice, the water providing adequate lubricate._

_The volleys of pleasure almost cost him a premature orgasm. Noetic, Naruto threw his arm back around Sasuke's shoulder as his nails clawed into both surfaces._

"_F-fuck—hurry up. Stop playing with me. Fuck me. Now," Naruto growled like a lion, apparently short of breath._

_Sasuke smirked, pressing a kiss on full swollen lips, the searing delight of the firm wet muscles smashed against his dank clothing, silencing the tan boy for the time being._

_Pulling away, blasé to Naruto's wants, he whispered against the wet mouth. "You're so sexy when you think you're in control."_

_Naruto scoffed. Who was he think he was he to think he was the initiator of this operation?_

_He wasn't going to beg for it like a dog with a bone. Literally._

_It was demeaning._

_The head prodded at the thoroughly stretched hole, tentatively, as a lewd moan straddled his ear cartilage as Sasuke successfully sheathed himself inside the hot cavern._

"_Mmm, it's so good to not have to feel you through plastic." Naruto disjointedly muttered._

"_Ah, tell me about it." Sasuke quickly pecked him._

_Sasuke's hard thrusts were raw and violent, teetering on brutal. Naruto commended the insane pace—it was what he thrived on. An equal exchange of effort was exerted when Naruto met every single thrust, possessed by the pleasure. After an enumeration of ecstasied moans and gruff groans, hands seeding and pulling on dark, god being called and blood-drawing bites on the juncture between his neck and shoulders, Naruto felt his orgasm knocking at his doorstep. And it was oh, so welcome._

"_S'skeeee… Fuck, I'm gonna—cum."_

_Sasuke joined their water slicked bodies together for a sadistically randy kiss. "M-me too."_

"_Hey, can you guys stop making out?"_

_Sasuke's strokes to his prostate came to an abrupt halt. Naruto whimpered collapsing against the pool edge._

_Fucking Kiba. _

_Sasuke pulled away, looking at haughty Inuzuka on the terrace._

_Shikamaru and Chouji greeted them and sat at the circular, titanium outdoor table, drained._

"_Before we all get pregnant."_

_Naruto hatefully glared at Kiba, and turned back to the apologetic expression on the Uchiha's face. "Already beat you to that one." Naruto grumbled, earning a stern glower from Sasuke._

_He felt Sasuke's softened member withdraw from his wanton ass in a slow deliberate motion._

_Being interrupted was always a pet peeve of his—theirs._

"_Sasuke, wait. I have to finish. I was almost—" But Sasuke climbed out of the pool, despite his pleas._

_Naruto gave a frustrated growl, pulling his jeans back on. "I hate Kiba."_

_**October 4**_

_It had been almost two months since Naruto had found out he was pregnant. What a hell of a two months._

_They had gone to their first free clinic checkup on their anniversary—September 5th. After a few tests, the doctor determined the eight week old fetus was completely healthy._

_Naruto was initially shocked he was that far along. He was even more confused when the doctor told them the date of conception was July 18th._

_That's when Sasuke opportunistically reminded him July 18th was the day he returned from Tokyo and "expressed" just how much he missed him—after the awkward dinner with Kushina and Minato. His sunshine blushed, finding it a little strange he got pregnant at his house when they were intimate at Sasuke's house and the pool house much more frequently. The night was pleasurably long and exhausting. It wasn't farfetched that after their crazy, sexual rendezvous, there was a bun baking in his oven._

_The coalition of medical members prescribed prenatal vitamins for the first trimester and recommended the pregnancy-safe Tylenol._

_They also warned Naruto to refrain from heavy activities, but more importantly stress. It wouldn't be difficult for his young body to naturally abort the baby at the first sign of anguish._

_Sasuke soaked up all the information like a sponge, making sure he imbedded it in his memory banks. He didn't want any complications with his first child. Especially anything that could be caused by his lack of knowledge._

_When he glimpsed over to see how Naruto was fairing, he saw him imbibing the precautions, conducting an absentminded stroke session with his abdomen with an attentive white faced stare._

_Sasuke gingerly touched him and he seemed to snap out of the trance._

_Smiling, he said he didn't want to miss anything._

_Sasuke's sentiment exactly._

_After the checkup, they returned to the pool house, and Naruto posted the due date on a sheet of paper in his fast calligraphy styled handwriting:__**April 14, 2010**__. Boy or Girl?_

_Quickly after, in red sharpie he sculpted a perfect heart around the rushed scribble. It was oddly fitting to the orderly master bedroom, taped center-stage on their headboard._

_Naruto kneeled in the bed with uncharted glee—a silly smile planted on his face._

_In a flash, lips collided with his, a prompt, 'I__**love**__you, Sasuke Uchiha. Forever and Always.'_

_Delightful and unpredictable to say the least._

_Like a week prior, when Naruto asked him to not buy him anything for their anniversary. After requesting clarification, he told him with an honest smile, and elation gleaming subterranean blue eyes with that he had given everything he could possibly ever want—and more; and it would be excessive for him to ask for a gift._

"_**You are my gift**__."_

_Naruto's sincerity wrapped him in a sweltering blanket._

_He genially smiled, embracing him with a whisper Naruto would never forget. "__**My one and only**__…"_

…

_Naruto tried to contain his violent mood swings but the notion was simpler than the action._

_His hormones were blaring and it was hard to ignore their bright signals—like they were encouraging him to act like a buffoon._

_He had already gotten kicked out of Asuma's biology class for the third time in one week for giggling like a hyena on crack. It was like he bought the tickets to an awful Broadway show of his misbehaviors and he couldn't leave nor pull the front stage curtains. He wanted a refund but that was impossible._

_He just wished he didn't have to watch himself act up anymore. It was unbearably embarrassing._

_Like they didn't talk about him enough. He was the hot topic on everyone's gossip list along with Sasuke, and their friends. So much so, their peers could write and publish a tabloid about them—The Sasuke and Naruto Times._

_Their fathers' status caused them to be the center of attention—along with their infallible relationship._

_It was a fine line between flattery and imitation. Admiration and Envy. Fascination and obsession._

_Either making up stories or gushing._

_Annoying._

_He just didn't want to give them anything else to talk about—which was a task._

_The one day in Biology he held it together, he bawled._

"_I can't do this. Look at him lying there all helpless and lifeless." Naruto flopped the frog on the metal plate, tears streaming down his face as he sniffled. "This was someone's child. How can you guys just cut them like that?" He pointed to his lab partners open frog accusingly._

"_Monster." He whispered, scandalously._

"_You're all monsters! Especially you, Mr. Sarutobi, you—"_

_Luckily, Sasuke pulled him out the class before he said something he would otherwise regret._

_Yes, exiting his first trimester was a challenge._

_But what was even harder was quitting soccer.k_

_He tried to be bulletproof when he turned in his jersey—number 23—but failed._

_Miserably._

_Once again, Sasuke was there to help him, and hold him for as long as he needed._

_Yes, sacrifice was a challenge._

_Thankfully, he remembered his unborn child's welfare when he walked out of the locker room for the last time._

…

_**October 7**_

_Naruto was feeling bold today._

_No, fierce._

_He didn't get up a single time last time to throw up. A new record._

_And this morning—4 a.m.—he was not bunkered over the toilet with the gross Japanese herb concoction Sasuke made to calm his stomach._

_He was invincible today._

_Snug in an amorous blue, Hollister hoodie, correlated with gray fitted cuff sweat pants and timberwolf gray and white Vans, he weaved through the sea of seniors and approached his entourage._

"_Hey," He chimed reaching down to press a friendly kiss on his blonde counterpart's cheek._

"_Hey, doll. How are you this grotesque morning?" Ino asked in her faux British accent, curling the cuffs of her taupe dyed denim jacket, fixing her cleavage revealing magenta blouse and her waist length French braided tresses._

"_Grotesque?" Naruto cocked a brow._

_The sun was unopposed by a single cloud at a crispy seventy degrees._

_She must have been mistaken._

"_Ignore her—she was hanging out with Mr. Webster last night because Karin called her a dunce." Shikamaru revealed._

"_Oh." Naruto nodded with understanding._

"_You're not dumb… Not interested in academics maybe. But not—stupid." Naruto awkwardly patted her back._

"_Thank you, Naruto. I needed to hear that." She stuck her tongue at the slouched Shikamaru._

"_You shouldn't lie so early in the morning. It's bad karma for the rest of the day." Naruto turned to Kiba with a dismissive smile._

"_Good morning to you too, Kiba."_

_Temari's neon blond tame shoulder-length barrel curls bounced as she folded floral fabric in her lap._

"_Hey, there." Naruto kissed on the teal eyed sophomore's make-up free cheek bone._

"_Hello, sweetheart. How are you?"_

"_I'm fine," Naruto's azure irises winnowed cheer as apricot skin tone glowed, adorned with an attractive blush. His lips were noticeably fuller and lush, and his hair was luminous nestled on his forehead dangling against sweeping obsidian lashes._

_Sasuke stopped drinking his tea, his pores inhaling Naruto's exuberant radiance._

_Naruto walked over and lifted Sasuke's chin with his index finger and gave an affectionate kiss, draining the stamina from him in a simple romantic gesture._

_Naruto was so fucking amazing._

"_Bonjour, mi amour."_

"_Good morning." Sasuke almost forgot how to speak, unable to grasp Naruto's enhanced appearance._

_He sat down next to him, resting his head on his broad shoulder._

"_I didn't get a kiss," Kiba and Sai said in unison._

"…_What?" Naruto looked malleable as his adorable eye contact caused the boys to glimmer with hope._

"_I want a kiss," Sai said adamantly._

"_Me too. Right here." The shaggy haired brunette pointed to slyly curled lips._

"_Me first."_

_Sasuke mentally fumed, cracking his knuckles._

_Temari chuckled. Was she the only one that noticed Sasuke was prepared to snap their necks in front of the entire student body and hang their bodies from the railings?_

"_Solution: kiss each other." Naruto didn't crack a smile. "You got jokes you two, nice."_

"_Too many for my personal taste. Both you idiots know he's been taken since we were like five." Ino rolled her powder blue eyes, unlatching her tote digging for homework._

"_SO," Kiba muttered under his breath._

"_Actually, it was two, three." Ino paused and thoughtfully tapped her chin._

"_Ino."_

"_Mm?" She glanced at the stoic Uchiha oblivious to his noxious wrath. "Alright. Jeez, take a joke and call us in the morning."_

"_S'ske, m'gonna tell my mom today," Naruto mumbled, a deft optimism evident in his voice._

_Sasuke's jaw wound tight. "Are you sure you want to tell her?"_

"_Yeah, I think it'd be better telling her first. Hypothetically speaking, I can't anticipate my father's reaction and I don't really…" Naruto blew a quiet sigh. "feel like dealing with that blow out at the moment… I just think I should tell at least one parent for moral support. And… in about another month or two, the proof'll be irrefutable."_

"_Call me after you tell her, alright?" Sasuke's gray eyes urged Naruto even more than his words._

"_Yes, sir," Naruto beamed, reaching for his bottled ice tea._

_Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that this was the first crack in their glass._

_He was just waiting for the rest to shatter._

…

_A lithe but voluptuous woman, not much differ in their height, hair as red as habanero pepper, personality vibrantly steamy. Eyes compared to the depth of the ocean's deep and wisdom amounting to the Milky Way's vast scatter of stars._

_Naruto inhaled deeply._

_She was characteristically dressed in a humble summer dress; the curtain of red hair flowing down her body, unperturbed in the abnormally large living area, the blond sauntered from the dizzying spiral staircase._

"_Hey, Mom," Naruto said hiding his shaking hands behind his back._

"_Hey Naru. What's up? You alright?" She studied his person checking her baby for any visual flaw. Finding none, she returned clueless back to her tense aura._

"_I'm fine, I'm fine. Do you…uh, have a minute?" He carefully took a step to the three piece sofa in his black cotton socks._

_He couldn't believe he was crumbling now; he was supposed to be fierce today. But human nature was outsmarting him in the utmost defiling way—through his confidence. The confidence that seemed to have departed long before he stepped from his bedroom._

"_Sure. Is there something wrong?" Naruto dolefully shook his head, taking place next to his mother._

_He took her delicate hands into his own, her face swirling with confusion. "Naruto…"_

"_Let me be frank." A shadow cast over his mother as Naruto struggled to continue. "I'm pregnant."_

"_What…?" Her eyes veiled with doubt._

"_I said, I'm pregnant." She yanked her hands away, the broken gates unleashing betrayal on her features._

"_Naruto—pregnant? You're fourteen. You're a child. How…How could you?"_

"_How could I what?"_

"_Do this to this family. Your father… Oh my God your father…" She shook her head, her hands dawdling._

"_I never intended on getting pregnant. You have to believe that." _

_She didn't._

"_I'm assuming it's__**that**__boy's."_

"_Of course it's Sasuke's, Mom, who else's would it be?"_

"_I don't know Naruto… How many…" She pointed to his stomach._

"_I'm almost three months." He bit his tongue._

"_Three months?"_

"_Yes, but I'm perfectly healthy. Sasuke's been taking me to the clinic for prenatal care regularly. I've been eating a variety of meals and exercising like recommended. Everything's perfect."_

_She was silent, not convinced of anything._

"_I can't believe this." Naruto shivered at the tone of drenched disappointment._

"_It's not the end of the world mom. Me and Sasuke will take care of this baby and give it all the love and dedication a child could ever want."_

_He stopped realizing that no matter what he said she was still going to give that dead, empty look. Swallowing the boulder in his throat he had said what he was most concerned about._

"_Mom, please don't tell Dad. I kind of want… to tell him on my own terms."_

_He saw the vexed shiver travel through her but still received no reply._

"_Mom, please promise," He snapped in desperation._

"_I won't tell him." All flares of sadness, disbelief, and anger were disposed of, leaving behind a frostbitten blizzard._

_She left the room and Naruto bristled._

_He never knew something could be so cold._

…

_TBC._

…

Preview; Number CH**03**

Abysmal crystalline rivers poured down claret cheeks as he pleaded into identical cyan eyes. "Daddy."

Minato painfully averted his gaze, feeling his heart clench at the sobs coloring maroon walls.

He couldn't remember the last time Naruto called him daddy… Swallowing a thick batch of saliva, he dealt with his arteries condense into an orb of forlorn shame.

Not willing to acquiesce, Naruto's hand strangled pale appendages, as tremors rocked his waning frame. "D-Daddy, please. I-I… I don't want to. Please."

UNT—NKY.

I'm finishing out high school and I won't be able to update as often. I will when I can. Sorry.


	3. The Alienation Part I

OooOOoo, I own nothing.

Thanks for reviews, so far [x {forgot to put that in last chapter 0.o}

Chapt. Is long because every writer **should** know, telling is fail and showing is king xD

Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru.

CH**03**: The Alienation Part I

**October 7, The Afternoon**

_In the lavish bedroom, excluding the clothing draping the three thousand dollar couch, scattered video games on the Zebra rug near the master bathroom, the pregnant boy rested on the king-sized bed. In spite of the area cumulated with untidiness that appeared to be raided and pillaged by the Somali pirates themselves, he made the promised phone call._

"_Hello? S'ske?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Well, I… told her…"_

"…_What did she say?"_

"_Nothing really. She wasn't too thrilled about the pregnancy but that's as expected."_

"_That's one down."_

"_Three more to go." A sigh ripped through the phone. "I asked my mom not to tell my dad."_

"_She agreed?"_

"_Yeah, she did." Naruto's teeth assaulted his lower lip._

_Lying by omission._

"_I'll… tell him eventually, just not now. I'm planning on letting my mom marinate with the idea of a grandchild. That is—if she doesn't acquaint herself with a swift scheduling of shock therapy first."_

"_Sasuke was briefly silent. "Are you sure she wasn't upset?"_

_Naruto stalled. "No…just surprised, I think… I mean it's not every day your only child tells you__**they're**__having a child… So I suppose I understand her frustration… When I think about it, I truly feel bad, S'ske." Naruto closed his eyes and opened them again, counting the knitted threads in his socks._

"_You shouldn't. You didn't get knocked up by any random John off the street. It was yours truly—someone you've been in a relationship for three years now."_

_Pride seeped through the phone._

_"And we don't have sex. Couples have sex."_

_Naruto was slightly mystified._

"_**Soulmates make love**__."_

_Naruto was stertorous; what was Sasuke was saying was an axiom. He felt even more accommodated for._

_Regrouping his brain cells and starving off the zapping astonishment, he fought the tears of joy. "Oh…Sasuke. How did I get so lucky?"_

"_That's my line."_

_Naruto smiled. "That reminds me of a story I have to tell you."_

"_Which is?"_

"_There's this guy I know. I heard he's madly in love with you and he's even expecting your first child. But most importantly, he's missing your face right about now…"_

"_Really? Too bad the feeling's not mutual."_

_Naruto's nostrils flared. "What? Why?"_

"_Because I miss more than just his face."_

_Relieved, Naruto giggled into the phone._

_Sasuke's ears delved into the delightful depth of the angel's laughter on the other line._

"_I think he would say the same thing."_

…

_**October 8**_

_Naruto and Kiba congregated at the upstairs railing of the high school building, looking at the large school population._

"_Are those the juniors?' Naruto inquired deviously, digging into his jean pockets._

"_Dunno. I'm new to the whole high school scene but I'm almost certain people don't have the number of years completed stamped on their foreheads, moron."_

_Naruto turned at an angle, eyes darting about the grainy cement and metal outdoor canopy ceiling._

_Suspicious, the brunet narrowed his eyes, "What are you doing?"_

_The antic cumulated and Naruto smiled. "Looking for the person you're talking to."_

_Seeming immune to the loud growl Kiba produced, the blond continued searching into his purposely white painted stained, shredded jeans. He pulled out quarters from his pocket, counting them out._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Those pricks below us were pressing me for cash at lunch yesterday—sooo, now I'm donating to them," Naruto said in between numbers. "Since I__**love**__giving charity."_

"_They're gonna come up here," Kiba warned, leaning against the railing._

"_And? Let them." Naruto frowned, preparing the quarters, discounting Kiba's daunting statement._

"_If they do, you wouldn't let them hurt me, right?" Naruto's audacious blue eyes swiped the breath from Kiba as their gazes locked. The blond's dark lashes nuzzled his upper cheeks as he blinked in a temptingly alluring motion. The garnet accented cheeks and velvety appearance to his tan skin made Kiba's stomach flop._

_Naruto sure was looking more and more stunning lately._

_Not that it was an issue._

_He wasn't attracted to Naruto or anything._

_Friends. Only friends._

"_Well, uh, you know—I would…" Naruto lips spread across pristine snow white teeth. He scoped the scene Kiba averted his ebony eyes and fumbled with his darkwash skinny jean belt loops. If Naruto wasn't blind he could have sworn Kiba was blushing._

"_Aw," Naruto cooed; disadvantaging Kiba's body temperature, subverting the dark haired to the baking bright red heat even further._

_Naruto dropped the first pair of quarters._

_It twirled in the air, catapulting in a quick downward spiral, right into the centres of the boy's head._

_A wail of pain sunk into the manhole of titters and yakking as the tall jade eyed boy glared overhead to a prompt flip of the bird from the freshman._

"_Fuck you," Naruto mouthed, chidingly._

_The boy soothed the pang of pain vibrating in his skull with a hard rub; Naruto's saw a daring smirk flitted across crimson lips._

"_When and where?" He yelled, much to Naruto's consternation._

_Never in a thousand hells. Never in a million light years. There was too much of a disparity between them. Ages. Attractiveness. Sasuke._

"_Ew." Naruto pushed his ruffled bangs aside._

"_I think he likes you." Kiba observed. "That's probably why he was fuckin' with you yesterday"._

"_For the millionth, bajillionth time…m'not gay," Naruto groaned with exasperation, hoping the comment didn't come out as disparaging as it sounded._

_Kiba cocked a brow. "Then what the hell are you?"_

_Naruto glimpsed over at Kiba, He shared an odd smile, licking his plump salmon colored lips, his fingertips grazing the slithery iron. "M'Sasuke-sexual."_

"_Oh?" Kiba looked at the fastidious touches Naruto demonstrated on the rail, finding himself wishing he was the metallic pole._

"_Then riddle me this." Kiba adjusted his drooped body position._

"_Mhm?" Naruto tapped his small fingers on the metal._

"_Would you ever date another guy besides Sasuke?"_

_The poised stagnant look on Naruto's gorgeous face only lurked temporarily before it absconded due to a duo of hands clutching the small blond's midsection._

_A smoky 'good morning' was whispered into the rebellious disarrayed hair._

"_Eeep." The blond freshman briskly batted away the fingers on his abdomen._

_The maternal instincts switch flipped on and Naruto curled into a pretzel of acute jitters._

"_Sai, stopppppp." Naruto waggled away, nervous._

_He whipped around to his pale best friend—sporting rolled up black and red checkered flannel shirt, black drain pipe skinny jeans and all black vans._

_The short dark haired sophomore gave a sour baffled gape, iced with a dash of incredulity._

"_Please, don't touch me there."_

"_Number 691 of things we're not allowed to do. Your probation has been getting stricter these days. Am I banned because of Sasuke?"_

"_No." A vehement twist axled on Naruto's mouth. "Because it makes me uncomfortable."_

_A smug smile climbed onto Sai's lips._

_Was Naruto supposed to be serious?_

_An embroiled stare pegged a clear stale mate._

_Kiba flinched at the intensity of Naruto's glare, feeling like his friend could be responsible for a litany of arsons across California if looks could commute to flames._

_Naruto slightly touched his raised stomach with a crawling fear._

"_I apologize. That wasn't my intention to make you 'uncomfortable'."_

_"Whatever, just don't do it again asshole," Naruto bit out, namely at Sai's disingenuous apology. A tad bit unwarranted - but his overreaction attributed to his blazing hormones._

_"Morning." A hand wove under his arm, his waist prepended by the strong forearm dragging him back into the muscular form behind him._

_Sai's midnight coals glossed with irritation as Naruto whirled to great the all-mighty-whimsical-embodiment-of-perfection-bastardly-Uchiha with a playful gleam._

_"Good morning," Naruto strained in his baby blue and white vans to plant a rapturous smooch on Sasuke's awaiting lips. Almost instinctively he found a safe haven in Sasuke arms, burrowing into his solar plexus dexterously. The chin of the taller boy rested in unruly locks, petting the delicate petals of sunflowers._

_"You feeling alright?"_

_"I feel great actually."_

_"Did you eat breakfast this morning?"_

_"Yes, I ate two."_

_Sasuke inhaled the spring flower scent of the hair, trying not to call Naruto names. He really thought 'dining for two' was meant in the literal sense._

_At least he'd be a generous mother._

_He couldn't wait._

_"That's good, Naruto."_

_Naruto reluctantly pulled from Sasuke's strapping arms, an idiotic grin mounted his face. "So I can have two dinners, too?"_

_Sasuke smirked, soaking in the blond bombshell's charming azure eyes, and red lambency illuminating the chubby olive flesh. The beauty's words evaded his ears as he remembered how glad he was he pursued those swollen satin talking instruments._

_"You're glowing even more today."_

_Naruto's brows crinkled._

_"Glowing?"_

_Sasuke drew Naruto back in slowly, his voice deviling a whisper. "Pregnancy glow."_

_Blue treasuries debased to cannonballs._

_"Oh my God, S'ske... Is it noticeable?" He covered his mouth, his new vulnerability making him even more adorable. He frantically surveyed his surroundings, unable to cope with the pregnancy's natural beauty enhancement._

_"That you're pregnant or you're more ravishing than usual?"_

_"Bothhhhh," Naruto whined, his wide eyes making him look like an exotic but startled fox._

_Sasuke countenance smoldered with all the untold prospects of parenthood and inane obsession with the boy in front of him. He loved him so much, that it was a disaster waiting to happen. Possibly in the making?_

"_Just to me." Sasuke smirked at the exposure of Naruto's lack of fortitude._

"_Really?"_

"_Yes." Sasuke's slates rewarded him with the inspiritment he yearned for._

_To remove his mind from the matter, Sasuke pushed the bag he had in his hand to Naruto._

"_Sour gummy bears?" Naruto eagerly grabbed at the value bag, cradling it to his chest._

"_Oooo, thank you, Sasuke. I've been craving these, so much."_

"_Did you—"_

"_Yes," Sasuke droned, also handing off the watermelon Arizona to his boyfriend._

"_You're so fucking awesome—you know me so well." Naruto broadcasted to the entire upstairs, sparkling at Sasuke's random display of kindness._

_Kiba snorted at the sight before him. He wished he really didn't have to see this—Sasuke._

"_Damn straight."_

_Naruto laughed, tugging at the bag of candy. "So marry me?"_

…

"_Why are we here again?"_

"_Because I have to get my vitamins, lazy ass. I haven't taken any today."_

"_Mm." Sasuke checked the time on his phone._

_2:45_

_Naruto opened the glass French door and walked through pulling Sasuke in behind him._

_Kushina heard the cohort of whispers at the Tuscan foyer and meandered toward the spiral staircase._

"_I'll be back in a minute." Naruto's voice disappeared as he rushed up the stairs._

"_I'll wait here."_

"_Okay!"_

_Rounding the corner, to the ivory engrained hall, she came to face Naruto's former best friend and current lover. A cogitate expression pulled across her face as her eyes autocratically ogled the likes of the boy._

_A systematic smug arrogance._

_Her sneer receded at the signal of his voice._

"_Hello, Mrs. Namikaze."_

_She swallowed hard. "Hello—Sasuke."_

_Her hands wrestled in one another, as her marine oceans spiraled into a narrow concord of pique._

_The temperature in the room rose as Sasuke's tone plunged. "Is there something you have to say to me?"_

"_I have no words for you—only pity."_

_Sasuke watched her leave from whence she came, deficient of emotion as his eyes rimmed with anger._

"_Sasuke, I'm ready!"_

…

_Sasuke pulled out the navy blue velvet ring box out of the top drawer of his dresser._

"_**So marry me?"**_

_His breath feathered as he pulled it open with care. The diamond crusted sapphire vintage platinum banded ring was comfortably situated in the box's holster._

_Sasuke touched the precise jewel cut in admiration. It was perfect for Naruto—refined fine piece of cutlery and rough around the edges._

_A perfect fit for his small right ring finger—when he asked Naruto to marry him. Sasuke tilted the box from the lurking rays of the sun to confirm the sleek platinum luminosity. He read the scripted words of 'Will you marry me, Naruto?' on the inside of the box of the grinning sapphire gem as he contemplated popping the question to his boyfriend._

_They were having a child—a family._

_It seemed like the perfect excuse to embark on the idea of a much wanted matrimony. Something he always dreamed of—moments between sleep and seconds during wake._

_Naruto wouldn't say no—he would be tickled right onto cloud ten._

_There was just the matter of timing—maybe even lighting. He wanted the ring to look as shiny and attractive as possible. But he also wanted—on a larger scale—for their parents to be aware of their first child's arrival before they seriously discussed becoming united as a jubilant possibility. To properly characterize Kushina's words, he weighed the spiteful words as words meant to hurt him—he had nothing to be pitied for. He had Naruto. It was a major feat in his story book—hopefully a book that had a happy ending._

_To finally be able to inhabit the right atmosphere where he could drop to one knee and ask Naruto to be his forever and forsake all others… it was immeasurable._

_The itching impulse to ask him when he returned from his extended afternoon snack sluiced him._

_When, though?_

_A light shuffle behind the behind the door knob awakened Sasuke's delayed senses. He snapped the case closed and threw it in the dresser, slamming it shut and whipped to his desired fiancé._

"_Whattttt arreee you doing?" A knowing smile spread across his mouth._

_Sasuke felt the beams of swear strike the back of his neck._

"_No you were doing something—I just know it, Uchiha," Naruto taunted, slinking closer._

"_I know exactly what you were doing and I knew you were going to__**lie**__about it…" Naruto melodically sung._

"_Care to be specific…?" Sasuke asked slowly leaning back against the dresser._

"_Certainly…"_

_Sasuke's heart pounded hard._

"_You're hiding my birthday present, aren't you?"_

_In a way he was—Naruto's birthday. Despite being their parent's not knowing, he could always ask at Gaara's small party for Naruto._

"_No."_

_Yes._

"_Actually…" Sasuke reached into the drawer below which ring and pulled out a small garment and held it out to Naruto._

"_I was wondering…" Sasuke straightened the fabric._

_Naruto's head slightly listed to the side, his full lips gaping._

"_If this is a unisex baby color… considering we don't know the sex…" Sasuke cut his gaze, cheeks coloring as he saw Naruto's confusion heighten._

_Purple. A purple onesie. For an infant._

_Naruto gasped in pleasant surprise, walking to the flustered boy and kissed his cheek. "Yes, it is."_

…

"_Hey Naruto," Sasuke husked against Naruto's heated forehead. Sasuke snuggled in closer, his mind acknowledging Naruto's subtle increase in body temperature. He felt like a huggable plush toaster oven that Sasuke didn't mind basking in._

"_Yeah, babe?" Soft lips moved against the crook of Sasuke's exposed neck and Sasuke shivered. Naruto was more affectionate day by day—but only to him. He sought to cuddle with Sasuke, adjoined with a commodity of sentimental kisses, splintered with love. He gave the traditional exhibitionist possessive girlfriend hug with a sweet whisper to effortlessly divert Sasuke's attention._

_Estrogen made him a ball of melted sugar._

_And Sasuke loved every minute of it._

"_You smell different," Sasuke muttered, the indescribable aroma coating the insides of his nostrils._

_Naruto throatily asked, "Different in a bad way?"_

"_No. Different in an… astronomical way."_

_Naruto chuckled. He had no idea Sasuke's pheromones had such sensitive detectors._

"_Thank you, for reminding me I still retain some redeeming qualities that don't include puking and sustaining my assholish qualities__**personified**__."_

"_It's all forgotten when I remember you're pregnant with my child. All your arduous first trimester struggles make you all the more phenomenal."_

"_Thank you… That means the world to me and more… Sasuke, do you think we're having a boy or a girl?"_

_Sasuke took a moment to think—based on his knowledge he would have to say—"I don't know."_

"_It could be a boy," Naruto speculated._

"_It could be but I think based on your mannerisms, it's…" Sasuke pulled Naruto on the closer on genuine black leather couch, "A girl."_

"_You think so? I wouldn't mind a girl—actually I'd prefer it."_

"_You would?"_

"_Yes, she'd be adorable. I'd dress her up… Buy her barbies…" He sighed contently. "She'd be my little angel… And be beautiful__**just**__like her daddy."_

"_You mean mommy."_

"_No, I'm pretty sure I said father."_

"_If you're finally admitting I'm more attractive than you, I'm willing to compromise."_

"_No way in hell, bastard."_

_Sasuke smirked. "She'll have her mother's eyes and be the most splendid organism to walk this lush green earth."_

_Naruto lifted his head and looked at Sasuke. "My…eyes?"_

"_Yes… Your eyes."_

'_The windows to my happiness.'_

_Sasuke kissed Naruto hard and heavied him right to the bed._

…

_A downpour of post coital bliss, animated their heavy limbs as Sasuke watched Naruto struggle to remain awake. He knew Naruto was already exhausted before they made love and that he was only staying awake because he wanted to spend time with him. Not like he did during the school days, or the few classes they had together, with everyone around, strictly alone time._

"_Sasuke?"_

"_Yea?"_

"_When our baby's born, promise you'll teach our little one Japanese—like you did me?" Naruto wispily asked technically half-asleep._

_Sasuke stifled a laugh, wondering how Naruto's mind ventured to a bilingual child on the verge of sleep. He silently pressed his lips to Naruto's sweaty forehead in bonding affection._

"_I promise."_

…

_**October 9**_

_Naruto was experiencing a headache for the ages. He almost felt like the head on his shoulders was not his own—like he borrowed it. His dizziness was blinding and his backache was riddling his smarting spine. To put frosting on the cake, he needed to pee—piss—really bad. The sensation was maddening._

_He walked up the long stairs and his fatigue was evident down to the molecular level._

_He was ready to show now—maybe these heinous symptoms would stop ruining his life. Not being abstemious usually helped. And after he got his much needed nap, he was going to proceed to stuff his fucking face._

_He backpack felt even heavier as he trudged down the elaborate hallway._

"_Naruto…" The ominous call conjured Naruto's inner warning alarms as he stopped past the doorjamb his father's open conference quarters. He backtracked to his father's rigid, constricted wooden seat in the chair._

"_Yes?" Naruto carefully examined his three piece navy blue suit and the similar spikes of gold floating on blue oceans—failing to see the technicality._

_What did his father want with him? He never had anything to do with his father's business or associates, much less his inner mayoral ones. He did attend charity parties and benefits but he never knew of any upcoming ones to soon take place._

_He sauntered into the conference room to meet his mother adjacent to the long table._

_His throat tightened as his school bag slipped on his Levi jeans jacket._

_His father's folded hands were clamped above his mouth, his eyes bleeding something vile. Something akin to rage._

"_When you were planning to tell me?"_

_Naruto looked at his father hunched over the desk and then at his mother's fingers interlocked like a tight snatch near her mane of crimson curls, her dark blue eyes fixated on the intercity vintage eighteen century rug._

_Naruto's falanchies slackened on the suede backpack strap._

"_Tell you what?" He tried to feign his plausible innocence as possible. He had his suspicions, be he couldn't quite place the reason for his presence here._

"_That you're pregnant with Sasuke's child."_

_Mutiny was afoot._

_Naruto felt the swimming scarlet rise from his irresolute jab from his gut—hard—the weakness he felt strengthened and he needed to puke more than ever._

"_Mom, you said you wouldn't say anything," Naruto alleged, surprise nabbing his thin tone._

"_That's irrelevant now—I am speaking to you and I would appreciate your undivided attention."_

_Mutiny was definitely afoot._

_Naruto looked back at his father's egregious gaze._

"_Is this another stunt to get attention because—"_

"_This isn't a stunt to get your attention," Naruto interrupted, with a seething glare._

"_Then why are you pregnant?"_

"_You need pointers on how to make a baby?"_

"_Naruto." Minato shut his eyes and inhaled. "Is this because you're trying to keep Sasuke?" He made it sound as mundane as the weather._

"_What the fuck, dad? I would never purposely get pregnant with Sasuke's child because he's going to leave me. Are you insane? Sasuke and I are solid—and I'm really not that desperate."_

_Minato heaved a sigh. "Do you both have no self-control? Sexual activity is meant for adults. Not young adults, or children who believe their adults—mature, rational-thinking adults."_

_Blue plates of glass narrowed and Naruto's condition conveniently worsened._

"_This is what I have the joy of coming home to… A boy who values a relationship over his own acquisitions," Minato grumbled. "Please leave for the time being. I'll deal with you accordingly."_

_Naruto stormed to his room like rolling thunder._

_He dropped his bag to the carpet, his hands being showered by his own tears._

_**October 10**_

_Naruto couldn't count the variation of birthday songs people sung to him, goofy faces people made, playful slaps he got on either arm, or the amounts of trinkets and gifts he received._

_Even that stupid junior that liked him bought him a heart necklace. Fat chance._

_Sadly, none of it escalated his mood._

_Even when Sasuke brought him two Cheesecake Factory cakes—based on the pun he was eating for two._

_His mouth didn't even budge._

_His were cramps were prickling his lower abdomen and he sunk like the titanic. With every germinating of pulsation of pain, he knew his body's ailments were stress related as the pregnancy dragged on. He vomited—this morning—but not ad nauseam. His cramps and dizziness lessened and he figured it was transitional to his third month._

_He didn't bother telling Sasuke he felt horrible for his birthday or that his parents thought he was the last piece of scum to scour the earth._

_He didn't need to make everyone miserable for his birthday._

_They were so ashamed._

_He told himself he didn't care but he was just lying to himself._

_Talk about dark cloud when he was supposed to being enjoying himself at his own birthday kickback._

"_Naruto, you're fifteen now, it's time you start stacking up." Naruto's pale, bright red haired friend poured a champagne glass filled of bubbly Krug._

"_It's five thirty in the afternoon, Gaara," Naruto reminded, wide eyes watching the clear liquid fizzle to the rim._

"_Champagne now—hard liquor later." Dazzling seafoam green eyes persisted, placing the bottle down on the granite countertop and handing Naruto the glass._

_Naruto almost turned into a wafer at his best friend's absurdity. Drink?_

_Despite Gaara's handsome appearance, layers of eyeliner and his bold kanji tattooed on his forehead, and lack of eyebrows and his white t-shirt offset with an ivy white vest, and loose straight-legged pants, he was still clinically insane._

_And not in the good way._

"_No… No thank you," Naruto tried to be gracious by pushing the glass back but Gaara wasn't allowing it._

"_Take it—birthday boy."_

_Naruto frowned. Only he could make the day you were blessed with life sound like a curse._

"_No," Naruto said with more conviction this time. The last thing he ever wanted to do was endanger his baby before they were considered a "fetus." If he did, he would be grouped with Gaara in the mentally handicap group. Somewhere he only wished to visit—not enroll in._

"_Yes." Gaara pushed it back._

"_No," Sasuke rudely relieved Gaara of the glass and poured the contents out in the sink._

_Gaara turned to the taller boy with a deadly glare, only displaying a fragment of the pain he desired to inflict on him._

"_Do you know how much this bottle costs, Uchiha?"_

_Sasuke shoved the empty glass back to into the Subaku's hands._

"_Does it cost more than your life?" Sasuke narrowed his beautiful grey eyes at his frienemy._

"_Point taken." Gaara closed the champagne tightly, taking his leave from the spacious kitchen._

_He stopped midway at the door-less entrance. "For the record, if you come in contact with a possession that coincidently belongs to me, Uchiha, don't ever touch it."_

"_Don't worry, I will." Sasuke smirked at Gaara's retreating back, knowing he would probably ignore him for a remainder of the school year. Not that he cared._

_Sasuke's amused eyes slid to a bewildered Naruto with a ruggedly protective glance._

_It felt like less than a spilt second, before Sasuke's hands comforted on his lower back pulling him in._

_Naruto instantly felt bad. He was culpable for avoiding him all day._

_How Sasuke developed such patience when it came to his inexcusable bullshit, was only known by the gods above._

_He loved his boyfriend—especially his exterior of nails and interior blanket._

"_Thank you, Sas'." Naruto gently put his head on his chest and his symptoms dissolved as Sasuke held him tighter._

"_I got you."_

…

"_Um, Sasuke, yesterday… You played brilliantly… Sometimes I forget you play alongside a team. I mean for you to throw in five touchdowns is… just remarkable… You must be disappointed Naruto wasn't there to see your victory."_

_Sakura expressed false remorse as she suggestively placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder._

"_Get your fucking hands off me." Sasuke shrugged her manicured hand off his cerulean hoodie with disgust._

_He detested her sitting on the leather chair arm so much he pushed himself to stand._

"_Who invited you anyway?" Sasuke scoffed._

_The last thing he needed was someone pretending to be so conciliatory because Naruto wasn't there to cheer him on. Naruto told him he was feeling less than well and apologized a million times for not being able to attend. Sasuke understood and wasn't going to guilt him into staying, especially when he was pregnant._

_It wasn't a big deal. He made effort to at least call him in the locker room after the game to congratulate him, and that was all needed._

_Sakura must have just drunk a gallon of Windex because he could see right through her._

_She was just the classic opportunistic female that roamed this city—one that would do anything to discredit Naruto._

_Sasuke moved away from her and that particular room, weaving through useless nobodies to find Naruto._

_Obviously he was the only one who could engage him in a decent conversation without all the ulterior motives in-between._

_The deafening music in the speakers made the place a rage of confusion as Sasuke walked through the hallway to the loveseat next to the living room entrance._

_Sasuke gave an askance look to the picture that looked so fucking wrong._

_Kiba was sitting so close he might as well have been laced to Naruto's side. He was practically kissing his ear as he whispered each word to him, his arm behind his head._

_Sterling. He never questioned Naruto's loyalty but he couldn't say the same for Kiba. Obviously their friendship wasn't worth the time and dedication he put into it._

"_Can I talk to you?" Sasuke jerked his chin toward the balcony door._

_Sasuke said nothing to Kiba, fearing if he did, he would find his fist lodged in his face._

_Naruto couldn't hide his confusion in the mostly empty room. It really wasn't time for opening his gifts or cut the cake._

"_Uh, yeah." Naruto nodded, taking the hand Sasuke offered as had to wiggle from away from Kiba._

_Chocolate hair masked the distaste in Kiba's dark eyes as he could only watch Sasuke and Naruto relocate outside the sliding door._

…

_Sasuke fumbled with the ring case in his blue hoodie. A crisp wafer of autumn air beat some sensibility and some courage into him._

_He could do this. All he had to do was ask. Drop on one knee and ask. Pop the question._

_The rest he could leave up to Naruto._

_The meringue of indigo and pale tawny shade pirouetted above their head, layering the romantic mood._

_Sasuke fell victim to vacillation, lowering his head._

"_What is it Sasuke?"_

"_I… wanted to tell you something. Better said, ask you something…"_

_Now or never._

_Sasuke resumed reaching for the case in his insulated pocket._

"_Before you ask your question I think I should tell you my mom told my dad about the pregnancy."_

_Sasuke's slight optimism faltered and his hand withdrew from the velvet covering._

"_She did what? The fuck? Why?"_

_A multiplicity of emotions pegged Naruto as he rested the back of his head against the glass door._

_The nadir of the beautiful blue eyes molded a mordant ball of peril in Sasuke._

"'_I don't know… But my dad was really annoyed by my 'aimless' ambition in life… Someone that claims to love you should never make you feel so bad. But…" Naruto shrugged looking out into the setting sky, tears rolling down his face. "…that's life, right?" Naruto's right hand swiped at the warm liquid._

_Sincerity carved out Sasuke's chest cavity._

_One hand found Naruto's shoulder. "I'm okay," An evanescent smile lit Naruto's face as he wiped it away with his forearm sleeve._

_Naruto's small red ski-slope nose sniffled. "What was it you wanted to ask me?"_

_Sasuke pulled his hands from his pocket. "Nothing."_

…

_**October 11, Sunday.**_

_Spiders of fear creeped under Sasuke clothes. A squeeze on his hands dragged him back in the correct realm._

"_I'll be here when you come out, no matter what he says, okay?" Naruto smiled, interlocking their fingers slowly._

_Sasuke looked down at the bewitching boy that seemed to make everything flow like a steady stream and kissed him._

"_Okay."_

_Sasuke walked to the Victorian styled door leading to the study and snagged the brass handle._

"_Remember, I love you."_

_Sasuke pivoted with a doting aura. "I love you, too."_

_They both bristled at the fleeting thought: their love might not be enough._

…

_Sasuke looked at the heavily revered and deeply respected man with an unrelated head of chestnut brown tresses and coal black eyes. A clean pressed button up shirt and the scatters of papers soundlessly expressed his father's studious nature. He didn't wish to disturb his case work and arouse his temper, but if it wasn't now, it was going to be later._

"_Father." Dark eyes darted up and placed his pen down._

"_Sasuke."_

"_There's something I need to address: Naruto is pregnant."_

_Fugaku stared at parentheses deepened as he sat back in his office chair._

"_Sasuke what have you I taught you to be your goal in life?"_

"_To strive for success, hone my skills and harness my opportunities. This family is not underprivileged and that should be used as an advantage."_

"_It's obvious you're as you've grown no seed of intelligence ever took root. You're just as foolish as that boy you're with." His father's wrath became more apparent as he shot him an icy glare._

"_I allow you to be together, which is embarrassment enough… And now this… This reflects solely on me."_

_Sasuke ossified where he stood, antagonized by his impertinent remarks._

"_I will not allow this tragedy to occur."_

_Sasuke tried to interject._

"_Say nothing, boy. You're an abomination just like your brother. A disgrace to your family—a being with no dignity. Get out of my sight."_

_Sasuke exited the study his pride seizing with shutters as his vision blurred and blackened at the edges._

_Naruto rose from the chair and went to him with a galvanizing smile. "What did he say?"_

_A ball of sunshine. His sunshine._

_Sasuke's limp shaky finger tips brushed Naruto's lower jaw, nebulously._

_Clear lakes of disenchantment made Sasuke's the vascular organ in his ribcage burn._

_As Naruto covered Sasuke's fingers with his own—Sasuke shook his head._

_Naruto's grin abated._

…

"_Have you heard of the news?" Fugaku walked into the compact but organized office._

_His dark haired wife, grey gaze rose from the charity tax papers, her glasses sliding down her face._

_Her abnormally dark hair and her milky sheet white skin were the birth of her appeal when they first met. Now all it reminded him of was his son's mistakes—one in particular._

"_What news?" Her thinly perfect eyebrows pulled together and she pulled her glasses off, her long dark mascaraed eyelashes charming Fugaku out of his anger._

"_Naruto is with child."_

"_Wh-what?" It was a flush as tears prickled her eyes immediately._

_They came down like April showers. She tried to compose her shredding emotions but it was all for not as thoughts of the boys' futures made her inconsolable._

…

_**October 14; Conference Room, Uchiha Mansion.**_

"_I had no idea they were intimate so frequently." Fugaku sighed, resting his hand on the glossy Costa Rican wood table._

"_They're two young and able boys—did you expect something else?" Kushina moved a large self-made red tendril from her shoulder, taking a glance at her derelict husband. Her glossed lips folded in and she looked back at her long "so-called" called friend._

"_Restraint."_

"_They love each other," Kushina argued._

"_Or so they claim," Minato said._

"_They're teenagers; they're impervious to the paradox of love. This mistake—"_

"_It's a child not a mistake. He or she didn't make herself, Fugaku. Don't tell me you're already punishing an innocent life for something they're not responsible for."_

"_The mistake refers to a child being born with children for parents," Fugaku tried to correct._

"_Then how do we suggest we rectify that, Fugaku?" Kushina's deep blues narrowed._

"_I don't know, yet."_

…

_**October 15**_

_Naruto set his back pack down on the first stairs of the Berbered staircase. "Those are a lot of stairs, Sasuke." Naruto grimaced._

_Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Did the number suddenly increase since the first days they had bought the house when he was five? "What's your point?"_

"_My feet kinda hurt. Carry me." Naruto smiled at the brilliant idea, stepping up stair, making him height level up to Sasuke._

"_Are you serious?"_

"_Yes, carry me up the stairs." Naruto bounced like an impatient child._

"_At my last appointment, my doctor advised me against heavy lifting."_

_Naruto swung like a bat into Sasuke's left shoulder. "You fucking asshole."_

_Sasuke held the affected area. "I wasn't serious. You're just pleasantly plump."_

"_Pleasantly plump!" Naruto punched him in the exact same spot._

"_Stop hitting me!"_

"_Stop calling me names than, ugly!"_

"_Ugly?"_

"_Yes, hideous." Naruto pouted and folded his arms._

"_If I'm so repulsive, why are you with me?"_

"_Because—"_

"_When you were underneath me on your birthday—all those compliments? You're taking them back already?"_

"_Shhhhhh-ut the hell up. Don't say that so loud in the house, Sasuke." His hands rushed to cover Sasuke's fowl mouth._

_Naruto felt a smirk form behind his palms. His wild eyes amazed by the granite irises that were emphasized by tantalizing strips of glossy black framing bangs. His eyes followed the high cheek bones and definite nasal bone trailing to the dashing monarchical nose._

_Oh, Sasuke was nowhere near—dare he say—ugly._

_His hands loosened from Sasuke's really tender lips._

"_Taking it back?" Sasuke's lips brushed the curl of his hands and Naruto's stomach shrank._

_He couldn't conform an answer as his mouth felt even drier than the Sahara desert._

_Sasuke suddenly scooped him up in his arms. "Eeeeep!"_

"_Sasuke!" Naruto laughed kicking off his black vans as Sasuke lifted him up the stairs._

…

_Sasuke was seated on the crowded sofa, with Naruto's head in his lap. "When are we going to tell Gaara and Neji—Temari. She's gonna slit your throat. You should probably tell her first."_

"_How altruistic of you."_

"_Thanks for noticing." Naruto grinned, dividing and dog-earring the paper for the initial process of paper crane creation._

"_There's Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Sai, and Kiba… He doesn't need to know."_

"_Why?" Naruto lowered the saffron yellow paper._

"_Because I don't trust the prick."_

"…_Why? You've never expressed your mistrust before, Sasuke."_

"_Well, I'm expressing it now."_

"_We still have to tell him. Save me the drama, please?"_

"_Whatever." Sasuke ran his hand over his face._

"_Don't be like that." Naruto thought of when he bitched out when Sai touched his belly and when Gaara offered him alcohol. Things were bound to become even more awkward if they kept them in the dark about the situation._

"_Be like how?"_

"_Stodgy."_

"_I'm not being stodgy."_

"_Yes, you are. I don't know what your problem with Kiba is…"_

"_I don't have a problem with Kiba."_

"_Sure you don't." Naruto rolled his eyes._

_Sasuke glared, feeling both temples throb unanimously. "We can tell them, Saturday."_

"_At the park or something."_

"_That's fine."_

…

"_Naruto," Kushina stopped at the door, holding Naruto's shoes in hand. Her voice faded out and focused her ears on the soft voices projecting in the room._

"_When you come home in the afternoon, will you change their diaper?"_

"_I'll hate doing shit patrol but yes, I would. It's only fair."_

"_And I'll make the baby food. I don't trust that crap they call food on the shelves."_

"_When she gets old enough, we have to start taking them to the park. At the rate you'll be feeding the baby, they'll need the exercise."_

"_I will feed the baby when he or she is hungry!"_

"_You say that now, but when the baby's in your arms…"_

_An extinguishment of sound supplemented a taste of fabulous serenity._

"_It's a nice picture isn't it?"_

"_Oh yeah."_

_She heard a short exchange of kisses._

"_Is it weird to say I love the baby already?"_

"_No, not at all…because I love the baby, too."_

_Kushina pulled back from the conversation, retaining all the information she needed._

_She sniffled, her black painted finger nails tracing the rim of the shoe's entrance._

"_He's growing up," She muttered._

_Maybe this this baby was good for them, for these families._

_It was lonesome being the only one who thought so._

…

_**October 16**_

"_Minato. We don't have to do anything when the baby arrives, you know? I think that the baby will be in good hands. Sasuke and Naruto, they're good kids—! They—"_

"_Kushina, please, I don't—"_

"_I heard them discussing the child—they'll be great parents." He pushed the open the heavy door._

"_Minato! You're not fucking listening! I'm talking…" He entered the conference room without her. "…talking to you."_

_She covered her mouth to butcher the sound of her choked sobs._

_Her royal blue eyes overflowed with tears. Her desperation wasn't enough. Love was never enough. Nothing was never enough._

…

_Mikoto's sleepless eyes watched the two men sit down in unison. Kushina moved to sit alongside her best friend. Fugaku thought everyone situated and spoke._

"_We've come to a decision."_

…

_Mikoto shielded her face with her hands, her locks curtaining her sadness._

_Kushina was striated—eyes blank, salty water staining her face._

"_I won't agree to that, Minato! You and that bastard can't do that! They're our children!"_

_A person different than the one she once knew turned to her. "You are either with me or against me. Make your choice, Kushina."_

…

_In the unlit, sitting room, Fugaku and Minato took one last chat to mold over their heart to heart. "I don't think this is the best choice. This type of devastation…"_

"_Minato, this your initial term. This time is vital, considering you don't have any margin for error in the political system. Don't let those boys ruin it for you—for us."_

_Fugaku's tangled his fingers in lemony locks, crushing his lips and clashing teeth. Fingernails dug into the navy blazer, his mouth voraciously kissing the pink lips. They knew their participation in this deception was wrong. They weren't supposed to doing this anymore. But yet the temptation still kidnapped them from their lives of pretend._

_The attrition of ethical requisites for the situation sullied what he knew would be best. Fugaku sullied what was best._

_Pulling away in the near pitch darkness, Fugaku whispered. "You don't want to be another causality to a scandal, do you?"_

_Minato shook his head._

_Callous hands cupped the soft cheek. "It's for the best."_

…

"_What did they call us here for?" Sasuke glared at both closed doors with authentic incertitude._

"_I don't know." Naruto's icy blue eyes followed Sasuke's gaze to where their parents awaited them._

"_It can't be anything good."_

"_Don't say that… Maybe they finally came to their senses."_

_Sasuke looked down at the maroon rug. He highly doubted that._

_Naruto took his index finger and raised Sasuke's chin. "Hey, at the end of the day you still have me."_

_Sasuke hoped that was true._

…

_Sasuke and Naruto walked in, their hands sewn in one another._

_They couldn't make eye contact with the latter—Minato, Kushina, and Mikoto on one side of the vertical table—their heads hung low._

"_Sit."_

_Immobilized by the strange display, neither of them recognized the words of Sasuke's father. "I said, sit."_

_Sasuke pulled out the two chairs at the head of the table designed for this arrangement. "Tell me, Naruto, what do you have planned in terms of this baby's life beyond the day of the delivery?"_

"_We—"_

"_I believe I said Naruto."_

_Sasuke felt the flames scorch across his face from the earlier anger from telling him about the pregnancy. He didn't even want him to speak._

"_We were planning on parenting the baby, ourselves. I'm going to stay at home with the baby and peruse a diploma in a domestic setting. Maybe I can still work in the afternoon, after Sasuke returns from school. I don't like the thought of a nanny or a baby sitter. I don't want to be a stranger to my child."_

"_And when high school is completed, Naruto, what profession do you aspire to obtain to provide for your child?"_

_Naruto paled slightly. "I don't—know. I always thought about oncology as a possible career choice."_

_Fugaku nodded once in acknowledgement. "Children usually don't have a clear path to the future. There are all types of aversions that prevent a smooth boulevard. This one, for example."_

_Naruto shifted in the chair and brushed his thumb on Sasuke's forefinger._

"_Do you think this method will be a stable lifestyle for your child?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Who have you told about your pregnancy, Naruto?"_

"_Only Sasuke knows."_

"_Glorious. Keep it that way. The last thing I want for you two is to be subjected to ridicule because of your poor choices."_

_Naruto narrowed cold blue eyes. "My child is not a poor choice."_

"_According to you. Is this the only option you've ultimately discussed with Sasuke?"_

"_Is there another available alternative?"_

"_Adoption."_

_Sasuke saw Naruto's mother teeth pinch her bottom lip._

_Naruto laughed contumaciously. "No. I'm not giving up our baby for adoption."_

"_Understand this is nonnegotiable."_

"_Yes, it is, it's a life—the most precious gift a human being can have. Not a lucrative business deal."_

"_I'm not requesting this from you, this is an order. You're too young to be burdened by the responsibilities of another human life."_

_Naruto recoiled at the ludicrous statement. "Young or not we're not signing away—"_

"_Either you both do, or I'll have your parental rights revoked and we'll sign those papers, ourselves. Don't think I don't have the means to do it boy. Do__**not**__test me."_

_Fugaku's blaze of indignation throbbed in Naruto's veins as he remembered Itachi—he remembered the ultimate punishment for disobedience. Naruto didn't doubt he would pay a judge off just to get their rights taken away._

_A shard of helplessness compromised the former edge he had, as he looked for something—someone to circumvent the diatribe._

_Abysmal crystalline rivers poured down claret cheeks as he pleaded into identical cyan eyes. "Daddy."_

_Minato painfully averted his gaze, feeling his heart clench at the sobs coloring maroon walls._

_He couldn't remember the last time Naruto called him daddy… Swallowing a thick batch of saliva, he dealt with his arteries condense into an orb of forlorn shame._

_Not willing to acquiesce, Naruto's hand strangled pale appendages, as tremors rocked his waning frame. "D-Daddy, please. I-I… I don't want to. Please."_

_Naruto sobbed._

"_Why are you doing this to me—to us?"_

_Kushina and Mikoto felt tears wet the hands in their lap: the pressure to destroy her own child becoming too cumbersome for the pair._

"_After the month of October you will withdraw from school and resign to your house. From there, you will be homeschooled until the birth of the baby. After ten days, you'll give the baby up for adoption."_

"_Will I… ever get to see my baby after I give them up? Can it be an open adoption?" Sasuke's heart wrenched as the tears precipitated on his bright red cheeks. He wanted to say something but he was at a severe loss for words._

"_It will be closed. You will sign disclosure-veto papers and have no contact what so ever with the child."_

"_But—why? I don't—I don't understand." Naruto hyperventilated as Sasuke tried assuaging the boy by wrapping him in his arms._

_Fugaku rested his chin back onto his knitted fingers._

_The other three said nothing even though Naruto was a weeping mess. "We'll iron out finer the details later, for now, you're dismissed."_

…

_TbC_

…

_Preview; Number CH__**04**_

"_What's the point of having this baby when I can't—keep—" Naruto released a shaky breath, glimpsing at the endless pile of Kleenex surrounding him._

_Sasuke's lungs failed to provide another useable breath. "Are you saying you want…an abortion?"_

_RazorrrrrBladesss *.*_

_Would love to hear your thoughts this time around. Haha._

_NKY._


	4. The Alienation Part II

Happy New's Year's Everyone! It's 2012! And I'm kind of excited, my birthday is coming +.+ which makes me wonder how old you guys think I am anyways… Thanks for all your support (from last year)… -insert heart- I've been writing here for a one year this Tuesday. Woot! ;3

I've been so sick lately. ]:

Anyhow, I have a few issues to address. A reviewer said they couldn't read my story anymore because Sasuke and Naruto were so young. I laughed because I didn't disguise or lie about their ages. Ahem, their ages are in the first line of the first of the first chapter. I'm not really sure what the issue was because this is far from unrealistic. (young) Teenage pregnancy is real and it exists. (From 13-15 years of age) It doesn't make me a bad author for writing it. Actually, someone needs to… Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas generally have the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the nation every year. I used to live in Phoenix, Arizona… best believe their poppin' em out in the grand ol' west, (Yuma, has the highest pregnancy rate in the nation D:)

Cherry Jade, hope you like babe, this is for you(:

Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru.

CH**04**: The Alienation Part II

**The Pool House**

"_Naruto, try to calm down." Sasuke gravely whispered with reason, grasping Naruto's shuttering shoulders, reducing the panicked tremor vibrating in his tone to a minimum. The last thing he wanted to do was trigger any unexpressed volatility or incite an increase of tears from the red rimmed blue eyes. Involuntarily, the clogging sediment thickened in his esophagus as he witnessed the incoherent blond wipe salty waterfalls with the back of his hands, the bricks wedged in his knees immobilizing his joints. Sasuke tried to swallow the thick layer lodged in his throat and support the fine twine muscles. A loud sob from Naruto caused a hitch in Sasuke's breath as he pulled in the pregnant figure against his own, tucking the leafy forest of blond underneath his chin, strong hands curling around his small back._

_The slap of panic and sorrow the news sparked combustions of afflictions Sasuke had to attend to. First, he had to get Naruto to breathe. Just breathe. Aligning his perspectives, Sasuke summoned the information he learned from their doctor and nurse practitioner about the importance of the stress, or lack thereof. If there was a large spurt of the fatal strain, it could directly affect the health of their baby…_

_Miraculously, he was able to get Naruto away from the nefarious meeting in the conference room and away from his brazen father's demands and Naruto's tight-lipped parents. Fighting every step of the way, Sasuke had to resort to physically removing the resistant body with borderline brutal force. His father didn't wish to reconcile any differences with Naruto about the fate of their unborn child. He simply wanted to be left to wallow in his superiority complex and invertible disgust towards their malfunctioning moral compass with the other malleable buffoons that called themselves parents._

_From the short assessment he administered to Naruto, it wasn't inscrutable Fugaku regarded Naruto as an arrogant fool for one, getting pregnant, and two, wanting to actually keep the baby._

_What he had expected was for Naruto to obstinately reject any form of change in his young teenage life and blindly choose his future over the baby's own. Unfortunately for Fugaku, the fight was not about Naruto's ability to pursue his youth, and engage in the venomous battle of defying their oppositions. It was centered on Naruto insolently refusing Fugaku's demands._

_He didn't expect Naruto to say he would surrender his life after the baby was born, for the child and for Sasuke. Fugaku concealed the emotion well, but Sasuke's keen perception recognized the astonishment arch on his elderly wrinkles._

_He couldn't understand such selflessness-especially from a mere youngster._

_Fugaku—someone who was a stranger to personal sacrifice—usually supported his 'sacrifice' on the backs of others', as he neither contributed nor traded anything of real value._

_It was more than just the child itself that infuriated Fugaku, it was the gushing exhibit of maturity that Naruto openly and shamelessly displayed._

_Naruto was supposed to dodge responsibility, while refusing to take blame for any part of the situation. Instead, the blond easily decided to forfeit various elements of his virtually carefree life._

_The initial inexplicable implication his father made led Sasuke to the correct conclusion._

_His father didn't think Sasuke was worthy of such kindness; he didn't think he was worthy of Naruto._

_Drenched the blazing depths of awareness, Sasuke couldn't believe his father hated him that much. It was so strong, surreally blatant, and incomprehensibly confusing that it even left Sasuke baffled._

_Disjointed, feeling a boiling rush of blood invade his pounding ears, Sasuke seriously pondered if this was all just an elaborate ruse they were using to separate them. Permanently._

_Apparently, one of Fugaku's wildest dreams._

"_I—I—c-can't," Naruto weakly gasped out; the heels of his palms swiping away the fresh tears. A concord red surge of flaming heat surfaced on the dank cheeks and delicate nose cartilage of the wobbly blond as the thick pulsations of sorrow and devastation sizzled on the thin dew of perspiration cumulating on the paled tarp of caramel._

_Sasuke felt unshed tears collect at the corners of his eyes, overwhelmed by watching Naruto in so much emotional pain he could barely speak._

_He had seen Naruto cry before, out of joy, out of sadness, and out of fear. But never to this extent._

_The love of his life was an expressive creature; there was no question about it. Whatever emotion he was readily feeling, no matter how transitory it was, it was made available to the public through his body language but more importantly his facial expressions._

_To make matters worse, when Naruto did anything he put 110% effort in. Heart, mind, and soul. No exceptions._

_Exactly how he loved Sasuke._

_Exactly how he loved his unborn baby._

_He always gave everything even if it left him with nothing._

_Sasuke envied the all-or-nothing personality trait at times, but often despised it much more because it resulted in Naruto, the person that he loved with every fiber of his being, to be susceptible to more pain and anguish than the average person. Naruto was far from average. He was of a different pedigree, a mutated species that was strong enough to stand alone but still required coddling, along with crucial protection. Sasuke was glad to be Naruto's barrier of choice—his knight in shining armor, promising from one day he would ward away all pain and shield his baby from all this cruel world had to offer him._

_He__**promised**__._

_Sasuke swallowed hard._

_After tonight, it was impossible to not feel like he wasn't failing him._

_This time, it wasn't his dense peers or derisive acquaintances, it was one of the few people Naruto swore would never hurt him—his blood relatives and the people he considered to be his extended family. The people that claimed to love him._

_It was a degree of betrayal so high; it broke the thermometer into mercury drenched shards._

_They were on their own this time._

_Alone._

_All alone._

_Naruto sobbed against Sasuke, finding it difficult to sustain a single logical thought that he could clearly articulate without feeling like a bumbling idiot._

_Adoption._

_Adoption._

_**Adoption.**_

_The word entailed much more than simple eight letters. He processed it like: take vitamins and eat well for the remaining seven months, get attached to the helpless, unknowing human being in his stomach that was amazingly half him and half Sasuke, endure anywhere from a few minutes to a few days of subhuman, disabling contractions while deciding between a natural birth and a caesarian section, have the child, hold the beautiful creature that he and his soulmate made, take them home for the first time, feed them his 'homemade' baby food, change them, clothe them, sing them to sleep, awake to their uncomfortable cries, play with them, then give them away like they were nothing, like it never happened._

_Is that what they expected him to do? Pretend?_

_No, he didn't want to pretend this never happened. He__**couldn't**____pretend this never happened. That he was never pregnant. That he had never mapped out the rest of his life as a mother. That he never loved the idea of having his own family with Sasuke…_

_He knew it sounded absurd. He was only fifteen and people this age usually didn't reproduce. Atleast they weren't supposed to. Society frowned upon teenagers who feigned adult hood by having sex without understanding the full consequences. It one of the few cultural taboos still ingrained into the monarchy of everyday life that earned low whispers aimed at their apparent ignorance and the obvious stares. They weren't mature enough to tolerate the responsibility of a child, which was naturally acceptable. Teenagers usually didn't have the civilization necessary to produce the sufficient parental abilities a baby would require._

_That didn't mean Naruto wasn't going to try. His child was worth it all; all the pain, all the blood, the sleepless nights, the stares, the laughter, and the silent ridicules._

_Of course he knew that raising a baby wasn't going to be a cake walk. He didn't expect it to be but he was aware it involved a number of improvements and a total change of pace on his part. Luckily, it still didn't deter him from the large task of handling a child._

_But his parents didn't approve of any of it._

_They never had._

_They never truly grew accustomed to Sasuke, or the thought of them being in a committed relationship. They always managed to treat him like an unwanted outsider, never integrating him into their family._

_Naruto was thankful Sasuke didn't mind there standoffish attitudes and remained with him simply because__**he**__was worth it._

_As far as Naruto could remember, his parents were uneasy about them hanging and being bestfriends with one another._

_Especially his father._

_Naruto noticed from the get-go his father kept Sasuke beyond arm's length. Approximately… a thousand miles away. To amend the discrepancy, Naruto tried organizing 'activities' that would initiate bonding but nothing seemed to work. It actually caused the wide rift to broaden._

_As strong as the temptation to ignore the issue was, Naruto knew he couldn't ignore it. Every time Minato and Sasuke intersected, there was always a close scrape that left Naruto intervening on their senseless arguments. Eventually, he couldn't sweep the spiteful encounters under the rug anymore. The tension between his father and Sasuke was real._

_Naruto deduced from the deep-rooted sarcasm and hateful glares that there was no common ground among the two._

_At first, Naruto thought it was because of the 'burdening' inference of homosexuality between him and Sasuke. But after their first year together as a couple, Naruto knew that wasn't the problem. Still peeved about having to choose between his boyfriend and his family, Naruto assumed it was Minato's gleaming overprotective streak and the unspoken fear Sasuke would break his heart and move on. Surprisingly, after a certain incident Naruto discovered that was not the case._

_It was simple._

_So simple, Naruto never guessed it._

_Minato was jealous. As__**hell**__._

_He didn't like Naruto spending so much time with another male. In fact, he felt like he was being replaced by Sasuke._

_The thought of Naruto placing all his faith in another man angered him, in ways he couldn't explain._

_Naruto thought he was being unfair, like he usually was._

_His father worked long hours at the town hall and held many functions that didn't involve him. He came into the manor late at night when Naruto had already fallen asleep and arose and left before he awoke. With his new line of work, there wasn't any father and son time anymore. He was lonely for a while; he missed his father's company, the fishing trips, movie nights, and inspirational encouragements._

_Meanwhile in the absence of his father, he and Sasuke's relationship soared to irreversible heights._

_Sasuke was the sweetest, snarkiest piece of ass on the market—every girl's wettest dream._

_In light of knowing he was the most desirable piece of meat available, he still fell head over heels in love with him, not regretting a moment of his strong feelings._

_In spite of being in uncharted territories, they exclusively chose one another to share their firsts with._

_First date._

_First time they ever held hands,_

_The first time someone ever gave them 'butterflies',_

_The first time they ever kissed,_

_The first time they ever cuddled,_

_The first time they ever had a corazon a corazon,_

_The first time they ever made love,_

_The first time they had a child._

_And that seemed to be the final straw for Minato—for everyone._

_Naruto felt his dark saline saturated lashes settle onto his lower lids, experiencing an emerging sprout of intense cramps crippling his abdomen as the threat of the probable future events caused his blood pressure to sky rocket. The pulverization of his hammering heart exclaimed the words Sasuke tried to but couldn't get through to him: he needed to calm down._

_He could feel the pain amounting in his midsection, his back hunching in response. If he didn't control his waves of emotions, he was going to hurt his baby. The one thing he never wanted to do._

"_Naruto, I need you to take deep breaths." Before he knew it, he was drowning reliably ethical bolts of steel—steel that always kept him grounded—as he felt the large hands engulf his hot, wet cheeks. "Just breathe."_

_Sasuke deeply inhaled, scouting Naruto's unfocused pupils and trying to get him to mirror his demonstration._

_Naruto nodded, letting his eyes flutter closed as his small nose sniffed one last time. Drawing in a large dose of air, and pushing it out with the help of his diaphragm, Naruto felt the magical effects of just breathing already. The tightening cramps in his center seemed to slowly disappear with each careful inhale and slow exhale._

"_Just like that," Sasuke encouragingly coached, etching his concern with the periodic stray thumb strokes._

_Naruto continued the deep breathing exercises like Sasuke told him to._

_The throbbing pain and light-headedness lessened…_

_Hearing his last breath quaver, Sasuke felt the small fingers' grip crease the front of his tee shirt as the beseeching radiant sapphire jewels brilliantly glinted. The soft glow from the only available light source reduced the intensity of the ensnaring eyes that were capable of invoking a hurricane of sentiments that could faultlessly turn him into a lovesick fool or balance his otherwise stoic behavior. The searing violet tone transported an infusion of practical fears bleeding into their everlasting attachment. The single heart-wrenching glance compelled Sasuke to just hold Naruto—for eternity._

_Shutting his eyes from the freezing cold universe, and bowing head slightly, Sasuke pressed their foreheads together enveloping the prickling silence blanketed by his lover's coarse nasal breaths._

_In the midst of the bitter solace, Sasuke felt Naruto gently place a weak kiss on his lips._

_Sasuke's heart dropped at the gesture. Here he was, in living, breathing shreds, but yet still oozing his unconditional love in buckets._

_So characteristic of Naruto._

_Sasuke just hoped this wasn't the last time he had the honor of experiencing his pure, omnipresent love._

_Having to say goodbye to Naruto merged with the imperative dictation of surrendering his first child under his own volition._

_A fate that made hell like a pleasant alternative._

"_I'm sorry, Sasuke, I didn't know. I d-didn't know an-any of this was going to happen. I'm so…" Sasuke heard the arch form in Naruto's wispy apology.__"sorry. Please f-forgive m-me." Naruto shivered against him, his sobs scattering across his words as fresh liquid wet the palms of Sasuke's hand._

_Sasuke sank a little deeper in the estuary of doldrums thanks to Naruto's senseless apology._

_It was just like Naruto to blame himself for something he had no hand in._

_He never owed him an apology. For anything._

"_You don't have anything to apologize for Naruto… It's not your fault," Sasuke uttered lightly against the familiar pair of soft lips. "You shouldn't be sorry," he mumbled, returning the chaste kiss._

'_But I should be.'_

…

**October 18**

_Naruto didn't gain an hour of sleep since the incident. All he did was weep in Sasuke's caged embrace every night. For the sake of integrity, he could attribute the endless tears to the hormones his body released in droves, but in reality, he knew the extensive replay of his memories and past mistakes were the true barrier from the slightest slumber._

_He was sorry for preventing Sasuke from getting any real sleep. He knew Sasuke had a long day ahead of him with four honor classes and football practice afterschool but yet he couldn't stop himself from burrowing into the small of chest and deeply lament. In response, Sasuke pet his messy locks, 'shhh'ing him and drowsily whisper a, 'try to get some sleep', occasionally kissing him on the forehead. Naruto felt so selfish after every comforting action, especially when he clung to Sasuke tighter, muffling his whimpers in his bare pecs._

_A few hours before dawn, Naruto trudged to the bathroom puking for what felt like perpetuity._

_He was sure to close the door behind himself to atleast try to suppress the volume of his stomach's violent morning sickness. He knew the thin protection of wood wouldn't stop Sasuke from hearing the worse vomit session he ever had to date but it was worth a try. Almost on cue, Sasuke entered the bathroom rubbing his eyes to adjust to the attack of the burlesque-esque dressing room's bright light formation._

_Hunched over the toilet, Naruto gander caught the most innocent state he had ever seen Sasuke in._

_He looked like a child awoken by a string of commotions, coming to see if his abilities could solve the problem._

_It was almost looking through at a smaller Sasuke, like when they were younger._

_Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand left hand, lingering somewhere between the enormous Teflon Jacuzzi tub and the blue and white tiled tub, the glow of Sasuke's untarnished skin resembled freshly-fallen snow, reflecting an image candidness Naruto couldn't explain even if he tried. The edge of his hairline to the curve of his exposed hipbones echoed a precious preserved pearl residing in the navy blue depths of the perilous oceans as his inky nest of dark hair nestled on his crown wreathed his tired countenance._

_The picturesque moment added tears to the wavering cobalt eyes. It just reminded Naruto of how much Sasuke didn't deserve any of this. Even though he was aloof and painfully indifferent at times, it didn't make him a bad person. The dam of coldness was his personal defense mechanism against the untrustworthy people that surrounded him. Naruto knew Sasuke had a serious case of trust issues because had been hurt so many times, by so many people, that it was only natural he would build an armament of emotional protection._

_He really was the sweetest, most caring person Naruto knew even though it didn't seem that way._

_He deserved to have everything he ever wanted._

_He deserved to be happy._

_Something Naruto wasn't sure he could do for Sasuke anymore._

_Without any spoken words, Sasuke moved to massage the small of his back until Naruto stopped the heavy throwing up._

_While getting ready for school, Naruto noticed the temporary bags underneath Sasuke's eyes as he pulled his flannel shirt on. Immediately, he felt guilty. He hadn't even noticed he looked like he had been stranded at sea and been kicking in the rough waves of the sea for 72 long hours. Somehow, that's what felt like happened._

…

"_What do you want to eat?" Sasuke asked opening numerous pantry doors and cupboards filled with a variety of labeled boxed and canned imperishables._

"_I'm not hungry," Naruto throatily grumbled._

_The blood vessel in his temple thrummed as his arm halted in motion of reaching for flour to make a fresh batch of pancakes._

_Sasuke turned, perplexed. "Naruto, you have to eat—"_

"_What's the point, Sasuke?" Naruto asked suddenly, twisting the thin tissue in his withering hands._

"_Honestly?" The blond whispered._

"_I can't pretend that they just didn't tell me to give our baby up for adoption." Barely audible, Naruto looked down at the crumbled paper wet by his own tears._

"_What's the point of all this…? E-everything we planned Sasuke…" He sniffled out._

"_What's the point of having this baby when I can't—keep—" Naruto released a shaky breath, glimpsing at the endless pile of Kleenex surrounding him._

_Sasuke's lungs failed to provide another useable breath. "Are you saying you want…an abortion?"_

_Naruto shook his head, pressing a fresh Kleenex against the corner of his eyes. "I didn't say that," Naruto weakly shot back._

"_Then what the hell are you saying, Naruto?" Sasuke walked to the eat-in area of the kitchen, taking a seat across from the bedraggled boy._

"_I'm saying, I'll go through this. All of it—and at the end of the day, I'll have nothing to show for it… simply because I'll destroy what our dad's built for themselves."_

_Naruto sobbed but tried to imprison the sound. "It's just not fair…"_

_Sasuke's tightened face softened as a syringe of interpretation unloaded into him from Naruto's explanation. Their eye contact engaged in an unspoken conversation as Sasuke reached for the hand he had no intention of surrendering so easily._

…

_The gale's dashing speed kidnapped the burnt sienna, lavender, and citrus leaves from their respective stems on their parched branches. The chlorophyll drained from the fruitful tree at the first indication of autumn, rendering mother's nature's creature terribly dehydrated. Alone. The rugged bark chapped from the trunk of the gigantic organism, the limbs still smiled. The barren plant that showed no evidence of prior longevity, still stood tall and strong, staring._

_Staring right at Naruto._

_And Naruto stared back._

_In the early morning, they spent time counting their similarities, discounting their differences._

_Especially one in particular._

_One was optimistic about the coming of spring—while the other dreaded it's arrival._

_A pack of summer birds flocked in, observing the tree closely, hopping from fragile sapling to sapling, and chirping to one another. Their contrasting fluorescent feathers dazzled Naruto as they took to the sky without fair warning, abandoning two tiny baby birds to fend for themselves._

_The finest example of alienation._

…

_Sitting on the bench, Sasuke watched the bird's fly away silently wishing he could partake in the journey take to another land where he could start anew._

_With Naruto._

_A place where no one controlled what they did, and how they did it._

_Sighing and lowering his head, he felt a weight press against his arm. Looking over, he saw the head of messy yellow hair snuggling into his toned left arm. He lifted his arm and pulled Naruto into his chest as he heard the blond release a sigh of his own._

_Today was definitely going to be the longest day of their lives._

…

_Even though they went to the least inhabited section of the campus, Gaara, Temari, and Kiba still managed to hunt them out like they had tracking devices imbedded in their wrists._

"_Sasuke! Naruto! My loves," Temari gushed, waggling in her knee length, deep magenta Gucci dress. She tentatively approached them in platinum silver Christina Louboutin flats, insightfully noticing the cloud depression condensing above their heads._

"_Sup, mutha fuckas," Kiba lingered precariously behind Temari, sensing a tightness about the two._

_Dejected spheres of pastel indigo looked up. "Not today, Kiba."_

_The wind swiped through Temari's pin straight blond tresses but that wasn't the source of the tremendous amount of queasy chills._

_The red headed boy noted this was the sternest but calmest he had ever heard Naruto speak. He also observed that Sasuke's gaze never left the fine cracks in the concrete._

_He couldn't determine what happened over the weekend, but whatever it was, it was major._

"_Um, let's leave them alone. I-I don't think they really wanna be bothered," Temari lightly urged the pair of boys away buy nudging their rigid shoulders. Confused, they allowed Temari to pull them to safer ground._

"_Something happened." Temari's turquoise jewels bounced from her younger brother to her best friend._

"_No shit, Sherlock," Gaara emotionlessly gazed into his sister's narrowing eyes._

"_Seriously." She rolled her eyes at Gaara's sarcastic stab at her observation._

"_What though?" The brunette peered over Gaara's shoulder to see at Naruto literally bandaged to Sasuke's side. A progressive increase in his pulse occurred as he watched Sasuke whisper what looked words of comfort to the Naruto, who looked he was on the verge of massive tears._

"_I can't say… But whatever it is, it seemed like it adversely affected both of them." She took a brief look at the couple. "Sasuke couldn't even look at us."_

_The trio was eaten by the sharp sawing of wind and the impressment of the sun._

_Kiba glared at the sight of them. "Secrets don't last long here. It's bound to come out, even if I have to uncover it myself."_

…

_Class was in session but Sasuke couldn't tell from when. He felt like his ass had been melded to the plastic chair for forever and a half._

_He heard the muzzled vibrating coming from his backpack but made no move to retrieve the device._

_He knew it was just nosey people… being nosey._

_The old mathematician lectured at the front of the clinically clean classroom, reviewing the proofing rules for parallelograms. Sasuke couldn't focus on statements or reasons, or anything at all. He found he just wanted to slouch further into his chair and fall into a deep sleep for the rest of the period. Unfortunately, the teacher was too strict to allow any student to devote his or her class time to 'napping' in his classroom._

"_Mister? Can I-Can I go to the bathroom?" Sasuke's empty grey eyes slithered to the melancholy decline in the hoarse voice._

_The pregnant blond's nose looked like a cherry tomato as he pushed his unruly gold shrubbery out of glossy sheets of blue._

_Obviously, Naruto was having a harder time than him._

_Sasuke observed how pensive he was at his school-material-free desk._

"_Namikaze, you do realize you go to the bathroom more than anyone I have in this entire school?"_

_Naruto's confidence suffered from the annular holes the intrusive stares kindled. He evaded the ridiculing gaze his old teacher gave him as he played with the string attached to his hoodie. "I'm sorry."_

_The teacher buckled, powerless to the unusually gloomy kindred spirit, allowing him to go the bathroom. On the way, he made a small detour to Sasuke's desk, bending at the spine his scorching palms cupping his right cheek. He whispered something unheard by the rest of the soundless students. Subsequently, he issued a kiss that surpassed the daintiness of a feather being effortlessly carried in a powerful gust._

_It was incredibly touching how much in love they were. Students took usually their PDA as an exhibition of status or a play on superiority but this time they could tell it was not addled by a drop of negativity or an obligation to impress._

_When they were near each other, it didn't feel like anyone else was there._

…

_Naruto closed the door to his home. Correction, house. Correction again, shelter. When he walked past the blinding white platelets of tile, and stumbled on his parents apparently waiting for him to return to school, he found he needed to make one more last correction: battleground._

_Taking his backpack off his back, Naruto gave his father an incredulous look._

"_I see you found your way back to your place of residence. Have a seat." Minato erectly stood, his hands shoved deep into his navy slacks, with blue eyes so enraged they almost guaranteed to turn the manor into charcoal cinders just leaving stainless steel foundation._

_The rope of emotion wrung high as Naruto gaped at his silent mother, the model of virtue._

_He somehow wished his mom would defend him as he pleadingly locked eyes with her._

"_Why I-I?"_

"_I said, sit DOWN," Minato growled with the ferocity of a displeased lion._

_Naruto shuttered, following orders._

_As he rushed to sit next to his mother, Minato saw his white hoodie pull around his raised abdomen. A cloak of white anger danced behind his lids as his mood deteriorated to his rotten core and badgered his inflated ego._

"_Before you ran off with your fellow degenerate, Sasuke, Fugaku told you what we decided we want you to give the baby up for adoption after the baby is born."_

'_Fugaku and I.'_

_Naruto uncomfortably twitched at the words. The subtle but telling reaction almost made Minato feel bad for doing this to his son. Almost._

"_Is there anything else that you request in accompaniment with our decision? Maybe a personal doctor or a midwife?"_

"_Sasuke." Naruto croaked. "I'm not breaking up with Sasuke. If you make me, I'll just see him behind your back."_

_Indecisive, Minato stinted, snarling at the honest ultimatum._

"_You already think I'm the absolute worst, what's a little bit more gasoline to the flames?" Naruto shrugged, not denying the wetness balancing along his eye socket, along with the increase in the temperature of his attitude._

"_Alright," He finally agreed, not confirming nor denying what he thought of his own son. "I'll allow you to stay with him."_

_Sucking in a drum of air around him, Naruto felt a pinch of relief. "Thank you," He said weakly._

_Stonefaced, Minato said nothing waiting for something, perhaps for a confession of some sort._

"_Can, can you reconsider about our baby?" Naruto shrunk incompliantly grimacing, as if he had been burned for asking._

_Minato scoffed, walking away._

"_Dad! Can you at least hear me out?" Naruto hopelessly shouted after him._

"_You can't have the best of both worlds, Naruto!"_

_Naruto's eyebrows pulled together. Did he think he was being greedy for wanting both?_

_Disappearing into the corridor, the blond felt the tears depart from his unblinking eyes. Mindless, he wiped them away. "Mom, can you talk to him? If anyone can c-change his mind, it's you." Naruto touched her arm and she felt as if his despondency stroked the shell of her heart. The encasing shell of ice._

"_P-please?"_

_She nodded slowly._

_She would do what she could for a lost cause._

…

**November 3**

"_Naruto Namikaze?" The short dark haired nurse read from her clipboard aloud into the empty waiting room._

"_That's…me." Naruto politely smiled, raising from the occasional chair, with Sasuke in tow._

"_Right this way," She nodded with a smile holding the door open for them as she led them back to be prepped them for the ultrasound. First, the doctor took all his vitals. Most of them were perfectly normal. "Your blood pressure is a little high," She said pushing Naruto's shirt above his stomach._

"_Have you been stressed or worried lately?" The doctor squeezed a cold water based gel onto Naruto's bare skin._

_He winced, looking at Sasuke anxiously._

"_Somewhat." Sasuke shrugged to answer the doctor's question._

"_Mmm, maybe you should consider swimming or maybe yoga lessons to release some stress."_

_Sasuke nodded. He could do yoga with Naruto, even though he thought the practice was mildly ridiculous, it might actually be relaxing for Naruto. Maybe it could get his mind off the whole adoption fiasco. Lately, it seemed to be all he ever thought about._

_Dr. Suze unexpectedly placed the transponder on his stomach and rubbed around._

_On the monitor, they could see the small fetus curled in his uterus._

_Naruto gasped. It was like a ton of reality slapped him. It was a real life living inside him…_

_And it was absolutely beautiful._

_The fluctuating black and white image captured Naruto's attention and Sasuke's as well._

_He almost forgot about his presence until he felt him hold his hand in his own._

_The doctor smiled at the image display. "A very strong heart beat."_

_Sasuke smiled as she moved the transponder around checking for any abnormalities with the baby. "Everything looks relatively normal—healthy."_

_She read the BP and whispered something to herself, keeping her eyes on the screen._

_She looked over to the Uchiha with a smooth grin. "You the boyfriend?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_You do know it's safe to have sex during the pregnancy?" She slyly teased, moving the device to the left. "Of course, if the libido is still there." She momentarily glimpsing at the boy on the table._

_The two blushed in tandem. Naruto gave a small smile, looking breathless as usual. "I'm sure he knows doctor. He's very up to date on his research."_

_The woman's pony tail caressed her shoulder as she childishly giggled._

_The humorous air cleared as the doctor checked the levels of amniotic fluid. "Would you like to know the sex?" She looked at the stunned boy before mentally confirming her justifications._

_Naruto quickly nodded, not trusting his mouth to speak._

"_Congratulations, you're having a little baby girl."_

…

**November 5**

_Sasuke sat in his computer chair, his financial statements laid across his desk, his laptop logged into his bank account. His hand was settled above his upper lip as he stared at the figures._

_There was no way they could run away—not right now anyway._

_He didn't have enough money to support his baby girl, Naruto, and himself for long. With no employment and no high school diploma there wasn't many job he was qualified for. He didn't have a license for the underground car repair garage he currently worked for. Unlike regular repair jobs, he didn't work under commission. Kakashi allowed him to pocket all the cash he made for each vehicle he repaired. It was a small price to pay for such quick hands around._

_He was paid handsomely but if he left, he would no longer to be able to contribute to the monetary necessities of their life._

_If they were going to leave, it needed to be permanent, not temporary._

_Sasuke heard his room door creak open to reveal his mother._

"_Hey, Sasuke. How is everything?" She asked knowing how__**everything**__was._

"_Mom, I'm worried about Naruto." Mikoto arranged her stance even neater, feeling her hands clutch the knob tighter._

"_What do you mean?" She asked._

"_He's not really eating or sleeping well… His stress seems to be causing physical manifestations of pain." Sasuke ran his trembling hand though his hair._

"_I don't… I don't want him to lose our baby girl."_

_Mikoto felt daggers in her knees as she watched her reclusive son's frustration mount on his usually unexpressive face._

"_I'm sorry—"_

_Not wanting to hear her excuses, Sasuke swiftly interrupted, "If you're not going to help me, then get the fuck out."_

"_Sa—"_

_Like a beast on a singeing rampage, he flung the nearest object at his bedroom door. "Now!"_

_Clay splintered against the door frame as his mother promptly exited._

_Heavily huffing, abandonment rushed in and replaced the void of helplessness._

_If he wanted to help Naruto, he had to do it his fucking self._

…

**November 7, Pool House**

"_Naruto, you have to eat something." Sasuke pushed the fruit bowl horizontally across the table as he wordlessly declined._

"_I already told you, If I eat, I'm just gonna throw it up." Naruto twirled limp blond hair, surprised how fragile the strands had become._

"_You need to reduce stress. If…" Sasuke began to propose._

_Naruto looked adorable as his blue eyes drifted over Sasuke's as he thoughtfully spoke._

"_I talked to my father about changing his mind; do you think you would feel better?"_

_A smile crawled onto fuller pink lips as he nodded._

_Sasuke knew he had just stepped into hell and shut the door behind him but he really didn't care. Naruto was worth every blistering second he spent in the hall of condemnation. Although nothing of fruition would come from talking to that monster, he didn't mind of putting himself on a limb, especially when it came to his daughter._

…

_Stepping into the overcrowded but fairly organized study, Sasuke entered, certain to close the door behind himself._

"_Have you been avoiding me father?" Sasuke languidly strode toward the overstocked desk._

_His father placed his pen down and relaxed back in his ruby lounge chair. "Do you think you're so special that I would compromise my meddling schedule for the likes you, boy?"_

"_I have no clue what goes on in that fucked up head of yours', assuming there's any activity at all. There can't be much with the things you've been proposing lately?"_

_Licking his dry lips, Sasuke narrowed stingy gray eyes. "Have you finally lost your fucking mind?"_

"_Likewise," his father answered with a scowl._

"_How so,__**Fugaku**__?" Sasuke asked, his anger fermenting—expressed in calling his father by his first name. Uncaring of Sasuke's disrespectful jab at him, he smirked. Sasuke had always been the one to purposely push his buttons right off of their sewn arrangement._

"_Thinking you are of age to reproduce, and expecting us to accommodate for a child that was created because your lover can't keep his legs closed. Are you even certain the child is even yours, co—"_

"_Naruto's no slut. He's only ever been with me."_

"_How are you so sure of that? He's not in your line of vision 24 hours a day…" Fugaku trailed off, twisting in the mobile chair._

"_Stop. A snowball has more of a chance in hell than you causing me to doubt Naruto."_

_He smirked with a sound of amusement. "Can't blame me for trying."_

"_Was it your bright idea to bring us into the conference room and tell us we were going to give our child up for adoption?"_

"_It was short of my original choice but yes." Sasuke blanched at the answer._

_Did he mean what he thought he meant?_

_Originally he wanted Naruto to have an abortion?_

_Short of breath, Sasuke concluded, yes, his father had lost his fucking mind._

"_What are you hoping to achieve by us surrendering our child to a broken system?"_

"_Keep what little dignity I have left—better yet, this family."_

_Charging his open palm into the surface of the desk, the barrel of suppression finally combusted. "You know__**damn**__well this isn't about pride! What's the real reason you're being so fucking persistent about this?"_

"_I just feel no personal ties or obligations to that child. You deserve a chance at life—not a being tied down by a baby for the rest of your life." His father rose from the chair, moving to leave the room and Sasuke resisted the urge to closeline the older male—along with all other bodily harm._

_He was leaving the conundrum unsolved, walking out, but Sasuke's words temporarily held him._

"_Regardless of what you say, she's your grandchild and blood is thicker than water." Sasuke swallowed with consternation, closing his eyes, and riding on the coattails of silence._

"_Blood or not—that child means nothing to me," He uncommiseratively muttered, clutching the knob of the door._

"_I could say the same thing about you."_

…

**November 9**

"_Sasukeeee," Naruto sung climbing down the rectangular glass stairs of the pool house._

_Sasuke's ears perked at the sweet sound finding the alien pleasantness abnormal in the dreary setting of clouds peering through the emphasized windows._

"_Helloooo." The pinken blond initially curled in the periwinkle love seat, then transferred his comfort to Sasuke's thighs. Grey eyes roved the flushed flesh and elated azure eyes, regarding the smoother appeal in his beautiful olive skin._

"_Hey," Sasuke slowly answered, concentrating pulling the neck of his white short sleeved shirt over the exposed sliver of taupe._

_Distracted, Sasuke felt a hand adventure into his dark locks, massaging his scalp. With his concentration broken by the delightful sensation, Sasuke looked back at his rejuvenated boyfriend._

_Surprised how much Naruto's mood improved, he felt a bite of fear._

"_Have you talked to your dad, Sasuke?" A beeline of tingles on his collarbone wasn't enough to stop Sasuke from stalling._

_Sasuke absorbed the fuller parted lips and pleading eyes.__**'Please, don't lie to me.'**_

_The Uchiha's thumb skimmed over the open lips, not able to look into the anticipating blue eyes—__**'I'm sorry.'**_

"_I haven't…gotten the chance."_

"_Oh, well when you do. Let me know what he says?" Sasuke shut his eyes, feeling a brush against his lips, but no contact, instead they pressed against his nose and then his forehead._

_Solemnly nodding, Sasuke feared that in the end, he would be the one that hurt Naruto the most._

…

EndTransmission.

A review would be greatly appreciated ^,^

NaiKireiYuki.


	5. Torrid

\Hevo, I finally finished The Wedding Planner and I hope everyone was pleased with the ending xD

Thank you for all my birthday wishes for my 17th birthday. And Reviews. Very sweet of you guys(:

Since I completed that, let's jump "head" first into this story now? [excuse the pun, I couldn't help myself]

Ahem, now I can focus completely on this. Does that sound good? Yes? Good #.-

Thank you for all your reviews last time for this story. I love you guys. –tears up-

Oh yes, last chapter there was a formatting error with the italicizing at the end -_-

I apologize for the confusion. It was supposed to be italicized because all of these chapters are chronological flashbacks.

…

Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru.

…

"_**My life with you means everything, so I won't give up that easily."**_

_**-Daughtry**_

…

CH0**5**: Torrid

**November 11**

_Naruto was stationed outside the small antique shop with a caustic liquid burning the tissue of his throat. His hand continually navigated toward and away from the establishment's metal entrance handle. With every waking nanosecond his confidence waned as he stood here procrastinating._

_Today, he had to tell his boss, Tsunade, that he was… pregnant._

_While he didn't expect a particularly great outcome, this was something that he had to do. _

_For two years, he worked for her as a regular employee at the antique shop and also a part time accountant, calculating finances in her downtown, Los Angeles casino. Gifted with special math abilities, he was the perfect individual to sift through the economic affairs and the only person she trusted to balance her check book. _

_She was his unrelated grandma that was fortunately independent of his fucked up family. She disciplined him and gave him stellar advice like they were family. He knew she loved him, and he loved her too._

_Consequently, he was scared the news might break her heart._

_She could have an array of responses, but if she decided to throw him under the bus, like the rest of his family, he wouldn't be surprised._

_Sadly, he was accustomed to it._

_All he needed to do now was swallow what little pride remained and tell her what she deserved to know._

"_Granny." Naruto opened the predominantly glass door, the clang of the small shop's bell awakening the sandy haired blonde woman postponed senses. Ceasing the revision of her taxes behind the counter, she looked to the mousy blond sneaking to a free stool in the antique shop._

_She flipped her long braid over shoulder, eyes the shade of indurating amber attaching to the ill at the male avoiding her hawkish gaze._

"_Um, I was wondering if… I could take a leave of absence…" Naruto pulled at his brown knitted sweater and then played with his sweat slicked fingers. Innocent blues silently ventured to the impatience exuding from the notorious gambler, her abnormally loud sigh and the hasty placement of her red manicured hand on her curvaceous hip._

_Discouraged, Naruto flattened his tan hands on the counter. "Because—"_

"_You're pregnant?" She reached for the pen across from the black and white checkered countertop so she could write a few passing thoughts on the corner of her SE form, all the while studying the wide-eyed fidgeting performance._

"_W-who told you that?" Naruto whispered, calming slightly._

"_Your father, but," She tilted her head slightly, "It's apparent to me even if he didn't tell me. Your face looks fuller… and your hair is thicker, not to mention shinier. You're practically glowing."_

"_Oh," Naruto barely said, not exactly partial that the news of his pregnancy was spreading without his knowledge._

"_You haven't been by here in weeks, brat." Naruto actually felt remorseful because she was the last authoritative figure in his life that he actually respected. So much had happened in the last few months, coming here hadn't made cross roads in his befuddled mind. "I figured something was up."_

_Tsunade switched footing in lieu of the lifeless hush hampering the conversation. _"_You weren't going to tell me?" She cocked a perfect eyebrow, releasing the pen and folding her strong arms._

"_Well…" Naruto felt his mouth thread shut as his thoughts dragged him under._

'_Everyone I've told either's been either shocked or disappointed…'_

"_It's alright. I understand—it's riveting being the mayor's son. __**AND**__ being pregnant is not something you'd want to exactly 'announce'—you're welcome to return after the baby is born."_

_Naruto uncomfortably speculated the sky had to be falling down if Tsunade was smiling—an honest smile, not a witty, condescending smirk, but a lovely warm smile._

"_T-thank you…" Naruto stuttered. It had been a while since an adult had relieved him of some prenatal tension instead of exacerbating it. Unlike he and Sasuke's parents, she wasn't nasty or unwarrantedly difficult. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She was nice __because__ he was pregnant… So far, it was an odd feeling to experience._

_He turned to leave in spite of the awkwardness that settled on his end, but something struck him dead, like a hot lightning bolt. "Granny Tsunade...?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Do you think any less of me for… getting pregnant?" Drifting, he awaited the answer he knew was coming. He predisposed himself to such judgment so he could deal with the painful, unforgiving words._

"_No… Why would I?" With his back turned, he forced himself to not turn around, if he did, he knew he would burst into tears._

"_I love you and when you love someone you don't judge them, no matter how much it affects you, or how much you disagree."_

_If only his own mother believed the same thing—it would change his entire world._

"_If you need anything, remember I'm here."_

…

**November 12**

_Naruto got ready for school, happy he was feeling better. Maybe today would be the day Sasuke would make time to convince his dad of the horrible aftermath an adoption could do them and their families. If Sasuke did have the time, it would be the happiest day on Earth. If he was able to keep his baby, he would be eternally grateful._

_He still couldn't solve the puzzling mystery as to why he had to beg to keep his own DNA. It was his own baby he shouldn't to ask to keep her. What parents would do such a deplorable thing to their kids?_

_The back of his brain always itched with the nagging thought Sasuke's father would reject any argument he brought to the floor. He didn't care what they wanted but only implemented what was "best" for them. It was depressing premise Naruto preferred not to think about, instead he just wanted to focus of the brighter, optimistic side._

_He was having a child with the love of his life._

_After his visit with Tsunade, he wanted to exact a hypothetical on his grandma._

_If he wasn't able to obtain legal guardianship of his daughter, maybe he could ask Tsunade to adopt her._

_She wouldn't be in his custody but at least she would be in a safe environment with the promise of daily visits._

_It was the perfect possibility…_

_Maybe, if his parents would agree to such an arrangement._

'_Not likely,' his alter ego whispered._

_Holding onto the edge of his tangy orange wall and relishing in the deep obsession with Chuck Taylors, he slipped into the fluorescent orange converses. Looking back at large digital clock hanging across the room, he gasped, pulling up his denim backpack strap and blasted toward the door. Yanking it open, he ran into his least favorite person._

_Backing into his own personal territory, Naruto frowned looking up at his formally dressed but apathetic father._

"_Glad you're still here." His passive sarcasm made Naruto's nose crinkle, the pungent scent of his smelly behavior._

"_What do I owe this unpleasant meeting?" Naruto blinked, taking heed of the haughty glares clawing through the beginning of his "good" day._

"_A smile," Minato sneered._

"_Sorry, I just ran fresh out of those," Naruto retorted, growing impatient with his father's circular game._

"_Only you could be so testy so early in the morning."_

_Naruto exasperatedly rolled his aching neck, sighing out the last of his father's confrontational words. "Why are you here?"_

"_Next Wednesday, I plan to withdraw you from your school. I've rescheduled all my meeting and important appointments," A gleefully sadistic smirk protruded the cruel alternative. Silence drained the color from the beautiful glowing flesh to an insipid, hollow white._

_What did he say?_

_Maybe he was finally losing it. There was no way his father meant what he just said. He would __**have**__ to be out of his fucking mind._

"_What?"_

"_I SAID—I am going to withdraw you from school, so I can place you in a private homeschooling program—perhaps online."_

_Naruto shook his head. No, this had to be all wrong. It had to be. "No, I'm not leaving… That would be fucking—"_

"_I didn't ask your permission!" Naruto hesitantly flinched at the thunderous boom the offending hand flung beside his head created and vociferous change in volume. "You ungrateful little brat! I merely came with the intention of informing you beforehand—not to ask your irrelevant input!"_

_The blond curled away with the fear that his father would lay his hands on him in a hurtful manner. His father had never hit him, but there were times where he tended to become physically belligerent. This occasion was no different. His unexpected burst of anger altered the whole dynamic of the 'conversation' and demolished the small amount of satiny invading the aimlessly floating air molecules._

_Frigid beads of sweat collected on the small fingers as he pulled at the hems of his black long sleeve shirt, his blue doe eyes fixated on the actualization of his father's anger._

"_But what about my grades, my friends?" A charring torch underneath the swell of his torso, made Naruto feel like his lungs were expanding underneath parcels of substantial pressure, waiting to explode._

"_Those all sound like personal problems," His father shot back. "Prepare for your imminent departure because this __**will **__come to pass."_

_Naruto's eyebrows crunched downward, a plea on his lips he couldn't voice—like a child that just lost their blanket._

_Exactly what Minato wanted him to remember— that he was just a child._

"_Do you understand me?" The eyes glazed with a stinging, venomous hate swallowed an abeyant Naruto._

"_Do you understand me?!"_

"_Yes," His voice dwindled to a mere breath._

"_Excellent." His father feigned a smile, and marched away, feeling like he had successfully conquered the universe. At least a piece of it anyway._

_Naruto distraughtly craned into the doorway watching his father stride away down the hall. He gobbled his bottom lip, knowing today was going to be horrible because his gut screamed this wasn't the only thing that was going to come to pass._

"_I could never drag Tsunade into this mess."_

_._

_High school peers freely roamed the campus, the enormous private school lively with gossipy chatter, the rousing sports affairs escalating to the top talk of the school. The soccer team failed to make a dent in their opponent last night, practically forfeiting the game, 3—0. The ass whooping itself was embarrassing, but the real embarrassment was their lack of coordination without Naruto's leadership. They were accustomed to Naruto's innate ability to forward the ball into goal scoring territory. Unfortunately, the players experienced true athletic devastation after Naruto quit the team._

_The tragic story of the soccer team was a hot topic but what was the real blazing story was the reason the mayor's son quit the soccer team in the first place._

_Naruto's real friends that didn't speculate his privacy deflected all personal questions hurled their way. They remained in their own personal bubble, hermetic to all the circulating bullshit. Ignoring all the 'buzzing bees,' they all huddled around the blue benched lunch tables, for one of their awkward morning discussion._

"_That werewolf assigned me ten sectional reviews," Kiba pouted, his Life Biology book flopping open on the sun-heated table._

_Sai's idiosyncratic emotional confusion came into play as he tilted his head. "I'm assuming you're referring to Mr. Sarutobi?"_

"_Who ELSE? That asshole only gave me the night to do it," Kiba bitterly spat, dropping his forest of rowdy brown hair into the book._

"_This is only a wild guess so let me know if my imagination is escaping me, but, you didn't finish it, did you?" Temari's green nailed hand threaded into her mid-length pin straight hair as rested her head into her left hand._

"_Of course not. Kiba's an asshole." Ino scoffed, adjusting her red lipstick in her Couture mirror._

"_If you actually came to class you wouldn't have two weeks of worth of assignments piling up. Instead of shagging that girl—" Sasuke muttered from across the table, causing Kiba to jump up and slam his hands down as an interrupting method._

"_Mind your own goddamn business, Sasuke!" The flushed brunette growled like a disturbed wolf hunting at the base of a disgruntled mountain._

_Aloofly folding his arms, unconcerned about Kiba's emotional outburst, Sasuke glared, wishing the idiotic mongrel would stop making a scene._

"_Why are you so fucking nosy, Uchiha?" Kiba gritted his teeth, shaking with a fit of rage._

"_I'm not nosy. You make it so obvious; I presume you'd like me to know." Sasuke carelessly shrugged._

_Ino snapped her mirror shut and Temari erected her spine, removing her hand from under her. Sai's eyes glided from the stirred females to the embarrassed freshman frozen beside him._

"_Who is Kiba fucking?" Sai innocently inquired, asking the question both females were literally dying to ask. Even though Shikamaru and Gaara weren't here, he knew they would like to know after they arrived, so he shot the gun hoping the bullet would reach its intended target._

"_Some older broad named—"_

"_Sasuke," Ino's brow length bangs swayed as her neck snapped to a bedraggled Naruto, his face moist with previously fallen tears. Her lips fell open with puddles of concern as she saw him sniffle, pulling his beige sweater tighter around his venter, brushing a featherlike touch to Sasuke's bare bicep. His blue eyes didn't seem to recognize their existence, only seeming to archive Sasuke seated near the twin outdoor staircases._

_Sasuke turned, crestfallen, his gorgeousness bogging down Naruto's declining mood straight to hell. He watched Sasuke uneasily glance at Sai and Ino before capturing his wrist, prudently drawing him in._

"_Can I talk to you?" Naruto mumbled, expecting Sasuke to rise to his feet at the words but he received no such courtesy._

_Feeling like a damper, Naruto resorted to mild begging. "Please?"_

_Kiba stared along with the others as the couple disappeared—leaving them in the dark. As usual._

…

_Sasuke isolated them by the football field, behind the metal fence where staff or teens usually didn't wander._

_Naruto squeezed out a choppy breath and reached out to touch Sasuke, hoping to physically diffuse the suspense of the bad news Sasuke's intuition knew was coming. The evitable raid of their contentious parents' bad constantly hampered their every attempt at happiness and made the struggle of preparing for the baby even more complicated. Sasuke thought he was a little better since he promised he would talk to his father, but he didn't know they were still going to implement __**every**__ specified rule Fugaku stated in the conference room that faithful night._

_Every __**single**__ one._

_Naruto slightly tumbled the black and white patterned JCrew tartan scarf in his palm, inspecting how it was slackly tied around his 5'7" boyfriend's neck. His fingers slid over the downy cashmere t-shirt, buying time he knew he didn't have._

"_Naruto, what happened?" Sasuke whispered, sympathetically grazing the damp area near Naruto's charcoal lower lashes._

_He looked up at Sasuke's gaging gray eyes and saw an abstruse shade of hurt in the shiny glass spheres. The propensity he had for him and his unborn child harpooned his heart every time a slab of worry was dropped on top of his skull. He shared every dip in emotion with his lover, either banal or drastic._

"_Um, you know how next week it's going to be four months… since I've been pregnant?" Naruto swallowed a wad of saliva, further intertwining his hands into the scarf._

_Sasuke slowly nodded, wondering where Naruto was directing the conversation. "I know," Sasuke answered with a small triumphant smile, his hand venturing beneath the flap of the sweater intimately touching the curve of Naruto's raised stomach._

"_She'll be here soon," Sasuke reminded amid Naruto's distress, causing the bright haired blond to smile._

"_Yeah she will," Naruto's eyes found the clean pressed cement. "But…"_

"_But?"_

"_My father is withdrawing me next week and he's making me do homeschooling. He doesn't want me to be seen with this 'affliction'," Naruto mumbled._

_Sasuke was dead silent, drawing Naruto's fearful glance._

"_He can't do that…"_

_Naruto felt heat bubble beneath the skin on his face and neck as he thought about what Minato was making him do against his will. "I don't have a choice. Legally he has the right to change my place of education."_

_Sasuke's heart left his chest twice. Were their fathers that embarrassed about Naruto's pregnancy that they would remove him from plain sight just to preserve their honor? Is that what __supportive__ parents did?_

_The majority was the embarrassment should have rested on Naruto's shoulders, but they were exploiting damage control methods as if they were directly cleaning up a mess that they had made themselves. They didn't understand. This wasn't their crisis to handle._

_What about his life here? Was he just supposed to give that up?_

"_W-what about me?" Sasuke muttered._

_Naruto was the main cushion that made the school bearable, aside from the sport of football and the automotive program he was involved in, Naruto was his motivation. His jokes, his flirting, and the educational genius he used to correct Sasuke when he off on the classwork—it would all be gone. Confined to a household._

"_You can visit me after school—or after football practice, if you have time…" Naruto's voice clipped as it faded into the humble cobalt skies, and tenacious orange sun. He could see the alternate visitation wasn't anywhere near sufficient for Sasuke and it never would be._

"_I'm sorry," Naruto sobbed, biting his lip. Maybe if he wasn't so pathetically affection starved he would never gotten pregnant and maybe—_

"_Remove those words from your vocabulary. __**None **__of this is your fault," Sasuke averred, enclosing the blond in his arms. "Alright?" His husky voice fluffed against the shell of his ears and calmed his inflection of pain._

_Naruto nodded into the softness of Sasuke's scarf, wishing he could stay in Sasuke's arms forever where no one would dictate his life or predict what was best for him. Sasuke would be his shelter and nothing would ever, ever hurt him—or their baby._

_The strong pulsation of Sasuke's heart beat peacefully lulled him behind a wall of security, validating the certitude of love his boyfriend had for him._

_Twisting to the thin yarn of the scarf, he willed a whisper, "What are you thinking about?"_

"_How much I'm going to miss you," Sasuke confessed naturally, unashamed about the prospects of not having Naruto around to love and cherish. He would never be ashamed of saying how much he needed Naruto._

_Naruto burrowed in further—"I'm going to miss you too."_

…

**November 18**

"_It's been long time since I've seen you Mr. Namikaze," The slick haired Principal Sarutobi administered a firm handshake to the mayor. Smiling at the honorable man, he shut the door behind a distrait Naruto._

_The quiet freshman took a moment to capture the numerous plaques and metals proudly melded to the wall and the orderly desk modeled after a corporate business scholar, committing the place he was awfully familiar with._

"_I could say the same thing," Minato grinned, giving the older grandfather a friendly grip on his shoulder._

"_Is everything alright in town hall?"_

"_As good as it's going to get."_

"_I see… I'm going to miss this little tike—he's the best of a bad bunch. A handful—but a genius. I never have the pleasure of meeting most of the students that raffle through my school except for a few. In the few short months I've known him, he's grown on me like a barnacle," Principal Sarutobi fixed his tie, and cleared this throat, not noticing Minato's face unstring and fall unresponsive._

"_He and Sasuke are quite the dynamic duo, maintaining a pair of 4.0 GPAs. This school is definitely going to miss such a stellar student." He grinned at Naruto, pulling a small smile from Naruto._

_He was going to miss this old man too._

_Minato would have never guessed Naruto was zealously excelling in school with his pregnancy health issues. He thought he would have allowed the medical excuses of nauseam and throwing up as a reason to flunk out his courses. Sasuke must have encouraged his completion of the first quarter with such high marks, caring for him like a pseudo husband._

_It wasn't a terrible thing that he was Naruto's rock but he was taking his duties too far when he impregnated his son. The thought of it absolutely repulsed him, sometimes to the point of speechlessness._

"_Well, Naruto's still young and he's exploring his options. He wants to try something new in regard to his education and I'm just the intermediary."_

_Naruto remained at bay, glaring the nine layers of hell in the back of his father's head._

_He wasn't the one who fucking suggested the change in scenery. He was talking about the withdrawal like it was what he wanted._

"_Naruto knows what's best for him. Anyhow, there is a small amount of paperwork involved in the transfer process."_

_Principal Sarutobi guided Minato through the process, in the meantime having an AP escort Naruto to his shared outdoor locker to remove all his personal belongings._

_The living emerald shards embedded in the ground and the banisters supported by the gargoyles engraved columns were one the things he initially loved about the scenically clean environment. It was easy on the eyes and made him appreciate the grander elements of the school—not the petty, invasive students._

_Naruto slammed the metal door shut, gazing at the full-size locker, his fingertips roving over it._

_He set his bag at his feet, twisting the handle of the lock to secure the area of safekeeping. In the corner of his eye he saw an approaching entity, coming to stand beside him. Recognizing the golden tipped Jordan's, he stood to face his boyfriend. The lanky assistant principal stepped forward to make sure there were no hard feelings between the two males._

_Sasuke stood, pass in hand, the impeding tension the thick block of forlornness counteracting with the level of appropriateness Naruto knew he should have kept. The man flinched as they threw each other into one another's arms, Sasuke's lips kissing Naruto's neck, and burying his face behind the sweet gestures. Unaccustomed to seeing such open passion, especially the type he couldn't possibly feel just reprimanding, the AP just stood firmly, allowing it._

_They pulled away not saying anything with a tormented expression. The optimistic but still pained blond, tried to smile or a mock a version with a twist of his mouth but failed. In the haze of the moment, Sasuke pushed his own fingers between Naruto's own, just holding them. Just for a moment in time._

_After time passed, Sasuke pulled away and continued back to the class from whence he came._

_Naruto yearningly looked on for a moment and then grabbed his bag. "I'm done."_

…

_The assistant principal wanted to ask if Naruto really wanted this transfer—he didn't seem like he was willingly parting ways with his boyfriend._

_His mind pulled away the single thought vocalizing his one question. "Naruto, is it really your wish to leave this school?"_

_He stopped walking and turned to the towering man behind him, listlessly saying, "It doesn't matter does it?"_

…

_Naruto returned to the office to his father shaking hands with the head principal, the largest grin on his face._

_Disgusting._

"_It's a true shame once again but I wish you the best on your endeavors, son." Sarutobi smiled, sending them on their way with a manila folder with evidence of his transfer._

_Naruto nodded in regards to the best wishes, though he knew the nothing good would come from them._

_They turned to leave and Minato set his hand on Naruto's shoulder on the way out and Sarutobi saw Naruto forcefully shrug the hand off._

_And he figured this was not Naruto's choice at all._

…

_In the Rolls Royce, Naruto turned facing the passenger window, looking at the tropical brush and palm trees lining the streets and big signs advocating for numerous businesses. For some reason it reminded him he didn't tell any of his friends under the reasoning it would better if they didn't know what happened. They would wonder, worry, and want to take action by contacting him but he would simply ignore them._

_It would be better if they not get involved either._

_He sighed._

_Hugging Sasuke one last time before leaving had instantly made the process even more depressing._

_And it made him hate his father even more._

"_Thanks for driving me back yourself, considering you usually pay someone to do that for you."_

"_Must you always say something to try to piss me off?"_

"_I dunno. Do I?"_

"_Yes, obviously."_

"_No, I don't. If you were more of a father and less like a drill sergeant then maybe I __**wouldn't**__ have anything to say," Naruto raised his tone. "When it comes to anything involving me—you'd rather shoot yourself in the foot than lend me a hand."_

"_If you weren't so dramatic—"_

"_I'm dramatic, really?" Naruto turned to his father with wide eyes. "I'm pregnant and your solution is to withdraw me from my high school but I'm dramatic?" Naruto's tapped his foot, as he set he massaged his temple, turning back to the car window._

_God, this man gave him a fucking headache._

"_That doesn't make me dramatic—if you weren't fucking with that Uchiha boy you wouldn't be in this situation. You did this to yourself."_

_Naruto turned away from his window with a sneer. "Excuse me?"_

_So that's what he really thought?_

"_So just because I fuck Sasuke, get pregnant, I deserve to be treated like less than a person—and pushed and shoved around like I don't fucking matter?"_

"_Naruto, it's my decision what happens to you. You're my responsibility and I have to pave your future for you."_

"_No, you don't! That's not your choice! Stop acting like you give a fuck about what happens to me! I'm your liability and I always have been!" Naruto screamed in the ear of his father, hoping he could hear him loud and clear this time._

"_Liability? If you were a liability, I would have gotten rid of you a long time ago!"_

"_Then why didn't you?" Naruto narrowed his blue eyes. "You would have done both of us both a favor. You wouldn't have to be something you're not—a father."_

"_Don't sit here and criticize my parenting skills like you know what it's like to have a disrespectful imbecile like you to preside over for 18 years."_

_Naruto pulled at the locked door. "Let me out of this fucking car. I can't stand being near you for this long. You're like poison…No—you are poison…" Naruto's voice turned into a mutter shortly before it boomed thunderously,_ "_I said pull over and let me out!" Naruto slightly lurched at his father from behind his seat belt feeling his eyes hurt and his temples pound._

"_Be quiet. I'm not Sasuke."_

"_And I'm not Fugaku—at least I'm open and honest about who __**I**__ want. But you, you spend more time with that man than you do your own family... Come to think of it, why didn't you marry him instead?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, wanting to force a rise out of the philandering asshole currently driving._

"_You bite your tongue and not mention Fugaku do you understand me?" Naruto watched with amusement as Minato's hands strangle the black leather steering with a vengeance._

"_Did I strike a nerve? Is there something I should know, daddy?" Naruto mockingly purred._

"_Shut your mouth."_

_Naruto huffed, roughly facing front the in the ebony black leather. "__**Go to hell**__. Back where you belong."_

…

_When they pulled into the long stretch of the driveway, Minato explained what he wanted to see transpire of the course of the next few months. He wished he could indecently shield his ears from the fuckery that his father spewed but an invisible splinter pricked his curiosity and he didn't. His father assumed it was an exposé of respect but it was really a random display of courtesy. He should have accepted the gesture as a granted feature but his ever-expanding ego gobbled it as a complementary service. It just went to show how disconnected from reality that the older man was. _

_The relatively young parent rattled off an illogical amount of demands like he was not allowed to leave the premises. A security team and system would be set up to ensure that he would not go past the gate of the property. He would disable all social media and have his cell phone removed from his possession just in case he would try to contact his friends to inform them of his situation. He would provide a useable cellphone that would that he would monitor daily. _

_Spite shanked into their hearts. Naruto wilted at the brevity of the one-sided conversation. It revealed what a cold-hearted bastard his father truly was. _

**November 19**

_Naruto kneeled in the bed of the master bedroom in the pool house looking at the due date he had written on approximately two months ago._

_**April 14, 2010.**_

_When he found out about the sex of their child he circled 'girl' on the paper attached to the head board._

_A little girl was what he had always wanted…_

_With Sasuke._

_But it didn't seem possible this time around._

_And he didn't want to think he was giving up but… these were hurdles he couldn't leap over._

_There was only so much power he had against these monsters._

_He just…_

"_Hey." Naruto turned to the French doors with blinking azure beauties._

_The silky locks of his boyfriend peaked through the door and Naruto smiled._

"_Hey, my love," Naruto dived off the bed and rushed to Sasuke and deployed a hail of light kisses all over his face._

_Muscled arms drug Naruto in at the shoulders and kissed his forehead._

_**This**__ felt like home—not the hell hole he lived in._

"_Naruto," Sasuke muttered._

"_Yes?" His chubby scarlet cheeks and fluorescent cornflower blue eyes detained the steel grey eyes, causing him to get woozy gawping into such beauty without first preparing himself._

"_I-I need to talk to you."_

"_Okay," Naruto's stomach back flipped pulling Sasuke to the cozy bed._

_Naruto sat Indian style on the bed, towards Sasuke waiting for him to 'talk'._

"_I don't think talking to my father would be the best idea," Sasuke admitted, brazen pupils clashing with hurt ones._

"_What?" Naruto felt his blood run cold. Sasuke said he would talk to him and try to convince him. Did he lie to him? No, he wouldn't. He trusted Sasuke. He was the only person that he knew would never deceive him._

_Why? Why would he do that?_

"_But Sasuke, you said you would. You promised y—"_

"_I know I did but… I don't think it'll do any good." Sasuke shivered at the isolation of betrayal on Naruto's features._

_He saw the makings of resentment forming and he knew…he deserved it._

"_I know how he is. He's an old, stubborn fool and I don't think words will move him." Sasuke hoped Naruto would understand how cold Fugaku was. He could never tell Naruto what he did say when he did take the time try to reason with the devil. He would never repeat such garbage to such beautiful ears. It was better he thought that he never spoke to him to begin with._

_Naruto silently stared, not finding Sasuke's explanation to be enough. If he knew that from the beginning, than why would he say that?_

_It was the last piece of hope Naruto was riding on, relying on._

_And Sasuke just ripped it from under him._

"_I know we touched on it briefly but we didn't seriously discuss you getting an abortion." Sasuke was thoroughly relieved when the blond didn't flinch next to him._ "_If you want an abortion—I won't stand in your way… It's your body and it's your choice… but you also keep you can keep the baby until she's born if you think after they see her and interact with her they won't make us give her up… for adoption," Sasuke looked into the softened pastel blue eyes. "It's your choice, Naruto."_

"_Well…" Naruto moved his hand to Sasuke's inner thigh. "I don't want to have an abortion. I think… every person deserves a chance and I think my daughter is no exception. I do want to try again after she's born because… maybe they won't want me to give her away… I want to try—I don't want to be accused of giving up on her, Sasuke," Naruto fingers crawled making the Uchiha queasy and lose focus._

"_Thank you for giving me the option because…" Lust swarmed Naruto's gorgeous light eyes as his eyelids fell half closed and inched closer to Sasuke's handsome face, his lips giving way to the hot breath fanning over arctic white skin. Sasuke's cock jumped at the deliberate seduction of his lover, mollifying the heady pregnant boy. "…This is as much my decision as it is yours."_

_The soft lips pressed into Sasuke's, immediately delving his tongue into the hot mouth. He executed his habitual artifice, kitten crawling into Sasuke's lap as his hand moved rougher into the hard organ through the rough of his denim. Tracing the outline of Sasuke's hard dick, he slowly vacated the needy area and replaced his able hips with the hands that had the mission of distributing pleasure to where ever it touched._

_Disengaging the hot muscle, Sasuke felt his eyes flutter close and his hands hazily brace the grinding hips. Naruto smirked at the cannonball groan firing from the powerless Uchiha. A light flush danced on the pale cheeks as Naruto wrapped around Sasuke—body and soul—leaning to lick the lobe of his ears, grabbing it between his snow white teeth. "I want you… to strip me down and fuck me as hard you can—right now."_

_Sasuke swallowed, knowing it wasn't wise to tell Naruto no—especially when he demanded it._

_Absentmindedly, Sasuke's hands moved from the rotating hips to the touchable caramel skin begging to be unconstrained from the inhibiting t-shirt._

_Before his mind was misplaced in the throes of ecstasy, he theorized how magnificent it would be to change Naruto's last name from Namikaze to Uchiha._

…

_0_0_

_He said it…_

_Thanks for reading! :D_

_A review would be appreciated my darlings. _Hearts and Kisses ;3_

_NKY©_


	6. Meditation

A/N: [To Whom It May Concern, (IE, those who keep writing me bullshit) To those this has nothing to do, please proceed to the rest of the chapter] Please, if you don't like my writing style, for my sake and yours, make use of the back button. By all means, if it's that serious, go read from an author that writes the way you like. I won't mind. Trust me -_- I never claimed to be the perfect author or said I aspired to release a book. So please, save it. I accept **constructive criticism**, not dictation. Okay? At the end of the day, it's still my story and I still write the way I write. I'm not going to try to write like someone else to make you happy. Get over it.

*sigh* Thanks for all the reviews and stuff they make my day :D

Also, I'm not rushing the plot, so sit down, stay awhile. Everything will come together in due time. There's more to this story than just a series of events. Realistically speaking. I need room to explain important things. Naruto's four months along now. I can't just jump to nine. That would be someeeee BAD writing and you would be confused. Alright? KKKKthanks(:

_Small Recap of Chapter 5_: Minato withdrew Naruto from his high school. Naruto decided he doesn't want an abortion. He wants to have the baby and try to convince their parents to let them keep her once she is born.

With that said, enjoy the chapter :D

CH0**6**: Meditation

**November 20**

_A peaceful black surrounded the couple during their silent slumber. Both wiped out from their night of passion, their bodies were suctioned of energy; they conclusively plucked the barriers of logic as they carried late into the dead of night. Everything was so fervent and so hot they impractically lost themselves to a monsoon of inseparable love. It had been so long since the two had been able to sexually express their affections to one another. They had been so consumed in the hysterics of their crazed parents while trying to practice healthy prenatal care they had neglected regular physical convergence. Sex was good component to repairing every shred of acrimony on their part. If they were so consumed in the pleasure, it would dismantle all the bad thoughts on the immediate surface._

_It was even possible it could lessen the impact of the disaster if they focused more on each other rather than giving them the time day._

_Grey eyes patiently opened and looked at the naked boy wrapped in the thin sheets next to him. Such exquisite, exotic beauty, best of all, it all belonged to him. Vacuumed into his pregnant boyfriend's, he felt the irritation rebel against his cache of reality, he checked the glow in the dark alarm clock that read 5:57. Wishing he could do more, he settled for a quick kiss to his warm forehead before leaving the bed._

_Sadly, it was time to prepare for the second hell hole the government called "school." Today would the worst day of all his years in an institution. Naruto wouldn't be there anymore. Sasuke systematically muttered curses under his breath and pulled his discarded pair of boxers on, moving to the lavish bathroom to quickly shower. He smelled heavily of sex and Naruto's favorite pomegranate body wash everywhere. He didn't mind but he was sure his fellow classmates would._

_Stepping into the shower, he already felt the healing effects of the hot water, cleansing his skin and awakening his sleeping muscles. He ran his through his hair with a sigh, he couldn't believe his dream had changed from fairytale to tragedy. It was just yesterday they were happily discussing the baby, sifting through baby clothes at the mall, and periodically making trips to Baby R Us. Naruto was preparing to finalize all the educational arrangements, planning to care for the baby at home and bow out of school gracefully. Now… they were clinging to the empty hope of keeping their little girl._

_Sometimes, he thought this was a fantasy. If he didn't see the proof in the swell of his lower stomach, he would argue that he was still asleep. He didn't have to secretly wish for the day to come anymore. He formerly put it on the back burner along with the rest of his future ambitions because Naruto wasn't ready for a child. Better said, Naruto wasn't ready for the tirade he knew his parents would create._

_The underhanded backstabbing and the disgusting exchanges were all a part of their attempt to force them into the will they wanted them to follow. Somehow, Naruto foresaw the hurricane of hurt. He muttered something about their about their parents but Sasuke quickly swooped in and quieted the minute but legitimate fear. Wanting to believe everything would work out, Naruto just nodded into his chest trusting Sasuke's golden words._

_Since that day about four months ago, Naruto warmed up pretty nicely to the idea of having a child with him. He was happy all of Naruto's fears disappeared but his father __**had**__ to come and fuck everything up—like he always did._

_He planned to take their child from them in order to save his fucking reputation from ruin._

_Sasuke had never been so repulsed in his entire life. Fugaku was just a monster that called himself a man when he knew he was anything but._

_He strongly influenced Minato, with all his bastardly glory to treat Naruto worse than he usual. Just like suggested, he withdrew Naruto from their private school without his consent, short of calling him a slut—something Fugaku had already achieved—leaving him to stay at home and enroll in online school before he had the baby._

_It was still a shock that Naruto wouldn't be there anymore for him to laugh with, poke fun at, flirt with, to mentally spar with. He never knew a day without Naruto's company because he never attended in his absence._

_The situation murdered his motivation. He wasn't ready for Naruto to leave. They were supposed to do this on their own terms, not Fugaku's._

_It was falling apart even though Sasuke had it all planned out. He was going to garnish Naruto with all the support he needed. Doctor's appointments. Baby clothes. Reassurance that he wasn't getting 'fat.' Patience when he turned into a raging, hormonal bitch. Then he was going to make the biggest decision of his life and get down on one knee._

_Not having a child out of wedlock. Taking responsibility. Being a man and making a true commitment._

_They were all excuses. Sasuke couldn't care less about those trivial issues; he just preferred to call Naruto his husband instead of boyfriend. He wanted to make something that sounded transitory into something that was __**really **__was permanent. He was sure—his love would never wane. He was in so deep, there was no way he would be able dig himself out even if he wanted to._

_Unfortunately, just when he was about to ask the most important question, Naruto voiced further frustration over his father—for the millionth time in the last two years, ruining the moment. Sasuke wanted to ask Naruto again but he was terrified. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle a no—not now. A marriage proposal would be added stress and Naruto would have not agreed._

_Sasuke didn't want to jeopardize the realm their relationship was in, nor did he want to scare Naruto off with such serious commitment. Sure, having a baby was serious but just because two consenting individuals had a child together didn't mean they were cemented together for life._

_Sasuke wanted to cement them together with marriage. He wanted to, he really did but everything was too uncertain for him to get his hopes up—again._

_Stepping out the shower, stark naked, Sasuke inhaled a small amount of steam. To his surprise, his lover was sitting on the bathroom counter._

"_Weren't planning on telling me you were leaving?" Naruto asked, clutching the edge of the counter, kicking his feet carelessly into the air._

"_You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you." Sasuke reached for a towel from the towel rack and wrapped it snuggly on his hips. Not wasting a moment, Sasuke strode in between the tan legs, sliding them further apart to allow room for him to stand. Naturally, Naruto's fingers wove into dank, dark locks, trapping Sasuke by enclosing his knees around his hips. Sasuke cupped the knees with his palms, admiring the authoritative glimmer in Naruto's blue eyes._

_Sasuke smirked at the sight of Naruto in his t-shirt from yesterday afternoon. Was he trying to excite him so early in the morning?_

"_I wouldn't have minded. It's better than waking up without you." Naruto's frowned at the thought, lightly running his fingers over Sasuke's tight eight pack._

_Sasuke noticed Naruto was focusing elsewhere to hide his hurt. He light brushed his short nails over his knees, slightly tickling Naruto._

"_You need your rest. If you don't have to get up, you shouldn't," Sasuke said in a level tone before his mood sank._

"_I'm not tired. I actually feel good," Naruto grumbled, failing to disguise the new insulted edge._

_Naruto looked up to Sasuke who slipped into an impassive state. A single hand cupped the pale cheek, concerned._

"_Daijoubu?" Naruto asked softly, trailing the side of Sasuke's face carefully._

_Sasuke immediately shook his head._

_Naruto glared at Sasuke, unappreciative of the fact that he couldn't tell him what was on his mind. If the position was reversed, Sasuke would pry and prod until he got the desired answer._

_Such an asshole._

_The dark haired boy tucked his head in Naruto's neck, his right hand traveling up his exposed thighs. "Today's going to suck fucking balls," Sasuke's muffled whisper singlehandedly explained what must have been going through his head earlier. Naruto closed his eyes, searching for words of comfort._

_Sasuke kissed over the previous bites marks from last night's rowdy activities, hazing Naruto's current thought process. The chin length bangs delighted the sensitive areas of his shoulder, eliciting a quiet gasp from the blond._

"_Just try to make it through the day… and then… come home to me," Naruto muttered, "One day at a time."_

_Sasuke smiled, "Sure… mommy."_

_Naruto snorted. "Don't call me that."_

"_Why? Too premature for your ego?"_

"_No," Naruto scoffed. "I'm just…" He blushed, squirming. "Not a mom yet."_

"_Yet being the operative word."_

"_Yet being the imperative word."_

"_Soon being the correct word."_

"_You're gonna be daddy. So shut it," Naruto swiftly countered._

_Sasuke laughed softly into his neck._

_The dread slightly lightened as Sasuke looked into the semi-fogged mirror behind him. He saw them intertwined, closer than ever, the perfect imagery of love. Somehow even bound by a new reason to exist, whispers still swarmed his ears—'Enjoy it while it lasts, because it's going to disappear.' Insinuating these were the next few months would be their last. Despite his determination, he knew the voices were right—they always were. In defeat, he took one last empty glance at the mirror, closing his eyes to the sweet image—committing it to memory so he could keep that. _

…

_Sasuke dropped Naruto off back at his house about five hours ago and then he drudgingly went to school. In the meantime, he stayed in bed trying to get some rest. Pathetically, every time he shut his eyes, he missed Sasuke, always wishing he was alongside him. His emotions were so much robust, especially toward Sasuke. Ever since he got pregnant, his love increased ten-fold. His flickering hormones demanded that he be closer to Sasuke and share absolutely everything with him. It was a new dependent, explosive feeling and it felt amazing._

_He knew that His hyperactive personality was beginning to ware._

_He knew he would have to bite his tongue later, but he missed school. It was only place where he could escape the hell here at home._

_Tossing the sheet off, he thought-drunkenly dropped his head back to the pillow. Running the tips of his fingers along the edge of his pillow case, he wondered if Sasuke missed him too. He smiled when the memory of from earlier was all the reassurance he needed. 'Of course he does.'_

_Soon after he began to doze, he heard a rustle in his room. Cautious of the noise, he raised his head to an intruder._

_Making a surprised squeal, he sat up; pressing himself hard into the head board, his gaze was met with a short, dark haired woman by his door._

"_Oh my God. Who the hell are you?" Naruto's wide eyes blinked at the semi-formally dressed woman. She was wildly beautiful and seemed to be just as frightened as he was. How the hell did she get in? And again, who the hell was she?_

_A pungent smell attacked Naruto's nostrils immediately as the woman dug up the courage to speak. "I-I'm your new caretaker, Shizune."_

_The fear dissolved and was replaced with impudence. "I don't need a caretaker. I'm not a child."_

"_Well you're going to have a…child," She said awkwardly, playing with her hands._

_Naruto's blank stare slowly transformed into a spiteful glare. "Did my father hire you?"_

_Looking away to the open curtains, she knew the answer would only anger him. "Yes, h-he did," She muttered._

"_Of course he did." He closed his eyes, opening them again. "Alright." Naruto grabbed his circular orange pillow and hugged it to his chest._

"_You can go now. I don't need anything." Naruto recoiled into his hand-made comforter, calmly._

_Shizune gulped, moving to exit the room._

"_Oh and next time, don't wear so much perfume. You're gonna make me puke." Naruto closed his eyes, hoping to achieve the splendid accomplishment of sleep._

…

**December 18**

_Kiba couldn't believe this torment._

_It had been about a month since he had seen Naruto in person. He didn't attend school anymore and his name was no longer on the attendance list. He couldn't contact him through Facebook, text messages, or phone calls. They all went unanswered, regardless of the urgency. He was so worried. He had no idea what happened to his best friend. Neither did anyone else. It was like he mysteriously disappeared off the face of the earth._

_He talked to Chouji, hoping to get some insight into the Namikaze household. He was the right person to talk to considering his father worked as the city hall's administrative secretary. He worked closely with Minato and studied his personal work traits and from what he heard, Minato's mannerisms had remained unchanged for the past month. The report didn't satisfy Kiba. He needed concrete proof that Naruto was okay._

_When he had time, he talked with his crew and asked what knowledge they had on the matter. Temari or Ino didn't know anything. Both were equally worried as he was but as equally as clueless to his whereabouts as Gaara, Shikamaru, and Sai._

_Maybe it was a matter of time he disappeared. After all those days in October when Naruto looked so sad and helpless, he knew he shouldn't have been surprised. It was a heart-wrenching sight. He wanted to comfort him, hug him, and kiss the bleakness right off his face… But Sasuke was always there to beat him to the punch, just like he had all those years ago._

_He was supposed to be the one that Naruto ran to with all of his indiscretions; the one to hold Naruto at night, but fear reared its ugly little head. He couldn't get the words out when he and Naruto were alone. He wasn't exactly sure what he was afraid of. Maybe it was seeing the quandary of rejection float in those lively blue eyes… A fate he would never willingly face on his own. If Naruto did say no, it would compromise the dear friendship that they had shared since they were small children._

_In the haze of his cowardice, he painfully watched Sasuke flirt and slowly swoop Naruto under his charming gales. Naruto obliviously accepted all the smiles, kisses on the cheek, and sweet, selfless favors. He knew he should have stepped in but his feet were frozen in place._

_Even though Sasuke was his best friend, he had taken the chance and asked Naruto to be his and Naruto said yes… When he heard the news, it was the worst day of his life only compared to the day Naruto met Sasuke in the sand box. The day Sasuke took Naruto away from him._

_While he knew Naruto wasn't aware of his feelings, but he knew Sasuke was. That bastard made the effort to rub it in his face every day that Naruto belonged to him, reminding him that he was the one meaninglessly sleeping around with girls in an attempt to fill the void. Sasuke knew all of his sexual encounters with numerous females would never equal Naruto and he would never let him to forget it._

_They never truly got along. They remotely tolerated one another to appease Naruto but now they didn't have to. Naruto wasn't here anymore and Sasuke was the only one who knew why. He asked the asshole time and time again what became of his desired lover but he never got a straight answer. He only received a small variation of answers that spanned from a 'none of your business' to a glare, to ignoring the question entirely._

_Today was the day of reckoning; Whether Sasuke liked it or not, he was going to spit it out._

_Kiba merged the students commuting into the courtyard for lunch. Dividing into his the west wing of the area, he spotted Sasuke, seating on the bench, uttering something to a gleeful Sai. Temari and Ino were setting their expensive purses on the table, flinching when Kiba arrived throwing his backpack to the ground._

_Sasuke briefly looked at the discarded bag, unaffected. He locked gazes with the coal black eyes, his grey eyes drained of any hint of emotion._

"_Today's the day you tell me what happened to Naruto, or I'll beat it out of you," Kiba threatened._

_And the statement only added to the malice brewing in Sasuke's eyes._

…

_The door slammed hard, slightly shaking the door frame._

_Naruto eagerly straightened in the couch._

_After his online classes, he was at home doing frivolous activities like looking through a few new baby books and practicing making baby food. Fortunately, he escaped Shizune and her annoying carefulness today by going to the pool house where she was unpermitted to go. Now, he was free of boredom—Sasuke was here!_

"_Sasuke!"_

_He got up from the couch slowly. His belly had gotten substantially bigger over the last month. At times, it felt like he was carrying a live basketball. Then he remembered that it was his little girl that was growing and thriving inside him. His little miracle._

_He peeked at Sasuke in the foyer, and what he saw horrified him. Sasuke's lip was sliced and bleeding slightly. There was a large violet bruise sitting at the corner of his mouth. Buttons were missing on his navy button up shirt that Naruto remembered being there the last time he wore that particular shirt._

_What rattled him the most was Sasuke's provoked appearance. Naruto didn't even see his boyfriend, in his place, he saw a vicious pitbull that had its chain yanked much too hard._

_Naruto waddled over to the boy resting against the door with his eyes closed, counting backward from ten._

"_Sasuke, oh my god, what happened?" He carefully touched the injury on his face. Even though he was sensitive of the area, Sasuke still hissed out in pain._

_Opening his eyes, and releasing the innocent door knob, Sasuke regretted how concerned Naruto was about his bloodied face. Those blue eyes looked so distressed—so different._

_He was pregnant and this kind of stress wasn't good for him._

"_Who hit you?" Naruto's asked sympathetically. His sapphires were muddled with mystification._

_Sasuke blew down, dismissing the question._

"_Don't ignore me, Sasuke. Look at your face." Naruto quietly fumed, his worry leaking into his irritation. Sasuke shouldn't come home looking like this. He was going to be a father soon. He couldn't keep getting in scrapes like this. It was unnecessary and immature._

"_That's funny, considering his face looks more fucked up than mine." Sasuke chuckled darkly._

"_Sasuke," Naruto barked. "Who were you fighting?"_

"_That fucking rabid dog called me out," Sasuke sighed, letting his head fall back against the door. "He wanted a fight so I gave him one."_

_Naruto furrowed his brow. "Kiba?"_

_Couldn't be Kiba, right? They were friends, weren't they?_

…

Oh, no, Naru-chan. They're far from it.

**Next Chapter**: More brushes between Kiba and Sasuke.

-Support for SasuNaru.

-Assholish Parents

-Cute baby discussions.

-Slight time skip.

FYI: Naruto told Shizune to wear less perfume because pregnancy sensitizes your sense of smell. To him, it was smelled like she was bathed in it when she obviously didn't.

Also, he's so rude to her because he's in hate with his father.

Hope you liked, don't forget to drop me a line ;3

_**NKY.**_


	7. Your Destined Grief Says Hello

Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru.

Un-beta'd sort of.

_CH0__**7**__: Your Destined Grief Says Hello_

_Puzzled, with swollen feet, the pregnant boy hauled his livid boyfriend to the sitting area for a much needed discussion. Slowly lowering his heavy body to the sofa, he was unappreciative of the defensive twist to Sasuke's torso combined with an aggravated sigh. He jerked Sasuke's arm in his direction. He was met with slicing eyes, darkened by hate. Naruto unflinchingly held his ground, not allowing Sasuke's misdirected glare to bite through his defenses. His eyes grazed over the purpling bruise on the side of his lover's face, his heart rate increasing at the distastefulness of the angry mark._

"_Sasuke, tell me what happened," He demanded, feeling rivers of flames replace his blood as Sasuke deliberately turned away, ignoring him. A furtive sample of inner inflammation showed as his hand latched to Sasuke's jaw snapping the agonizingly rebellious boy back to his furious face. "Now," He gritted out, baring his teeth like a fearsome lion, ready to immobilize its prey in one paralyzing bite._

_Sasuke flared his nostrils, staring back at Naruto. When had Naruto become so protective over that slimy, foolish mutt? He was his boyfriend; he was supposed to give him the benefit of the doubt, not that freak of nature. Right?_

_The two were inseparable childhood friends. It was obvious who Naruto was going to defend. Inevitably, he was going to be blamed—there wasn't even a point in lying about what happened._

_The concept kindled an uncertainty that he wasn't fond of. It was common for people to choose their friends over their significant others, even in marriage._

'_Damnit,' Sasuke inwardly hissed. 'Damn, Kiba.' _

_His temper was a menace that caused countless problems in the past but Kiba was no saint either. He was much rougher and rowdier than he was. Naruto was aware of the personality flaw. Even so, Naruto was going to blame him for the violent encounter anyhow._

"_Kiba came up to me spouting some bullshit about you—"_

"_About me?" Naruto quietly squawked, surprised. He knew he had left them in the dark about their disappearance but didn't he expect them to lose their mind over it._

"_Yes—he was questioning me about where you were and what I did to you. He got in my face and I told him to back off. He didn't listen so I punched him in his fucking face." Naruto's face slowly unwound. "He accused you of avoiding everyone and running away…" Sasuke voice wasted away to a sullen whisper, "I had to defend your honor." Sasuke sheepishly glanced at Naruto, gently removing Naruto's flaxen digits from his jaw, hoping he wasn't upset about the turn of events. What he didn't expect was for Naruto to kiss the tip of his nose, something he only did when he thought he was being adorable. Thought it marked the diffusion of the heavy cloud of tension, thus lightening the mood, Sasuke didn't release a breath of relief just yet._

_Naruto didn't pull back from Sasuke, enjoying the feel of his pale digits against the palm of his hand. In the tranquil linger, Sasuke leaned to rest their foreheads together, his lips brushing the vicinity of Naruto's mouth._

_Despite the awful outcome of the spat, Naruto knew Sasuke meant well—like he always did. _

_Softly exhaling in defeat, Naruto's opened his mouth to speak. "I love you but—" Sasuke silently cursed the conjunction. "You need to apologize. Just because he was bad mouthing my absence doesn't mean you should knock his fucking lights out—alright?"_

_Vaguely listening to Naruto's suggestion that strangely sounded like command, Sasuke strangely smiled—a smile that wasn't visible to the pregnant boy. His neck fell to Naruto's shoulder, his face finding refuge there. He nodded, agreeing to Naruto's idea of resolution._

_Naruto still had no idea what Kiba's real intentions were…_

…

**December 21**

_A warm wind blew through the private meeting spot behind the lush soccer field. Kiba's put his hands in his pockets, pensively watching the Uchiha—Naruto's lover. "About Friday," Sasuke extended his arm to Kiba with a cocky smile. "I'm sorry," Kiba wearily eyed Sasuke but accepted the open ended gesture. Sasuke's grip tightened as he shook his hand. Like an unpredictable lightning bolt, Sasuke hoisted Kiba off his feet, body slamming him into the solid concrete. A sickening crack echoed around the relatively silent area._

"_That you ever fucked with me," Sasuke snarled with a mugshot status scowl. Hissing out in pain, negative electricity lodged into his spine, Kiba's blurry vision, focused on the sinister teen kneeling over his incapacitated body. "S'the matter? Can't move?" Sasuke taunted, using the soles of his shoes to prod at his body. Kiba wanted to curse, call Sasuke all of the derogatory names in the book, but most of all, he wanted to tell him how much he didn't deserve Naruto. But he couldn't talk. He could barely move. The pain was so intense he felt like if he tried to stand, he would crumble to pieces—like a building with no foundation. He glared at Sasuke but it only made the smoldering monster grin harder._

"_Apparently not," Sasuke noncommittally said, shrugging. He stood erect, spitting on the ground-bound teen. "That's what you get for inserting yourself into my personal life. Next time you won't be so lucky." Sasuke wiped his mouth with the edge of his hand and stepped over Kiba. "Later, asshole."_

…

_A plethora of kisses dizzied the mesmerized blond. He couldn't get a word in, especially with Sasuke's tongue constantly swiping across his own, playing with him, mellowing him. He felt his ass press into the elk wood dresser, as he fluently massaged his lips against the older boy's. A spear of pleasure jammed into his system, tingling the tips of his fingers, advocating for the continuation of the fiery ministrations. With one last aggressive push against Sasuke's slick, skillful muscle, the dark haired boy made a strange noise as he pulled away._

_Their heavy breathing mimicked a pair of hackneyed mercenaries as Sasuke held the wrists to limit protesting movement._

"_What was that for?" Naruto panted out with blood red lips, the heat flowing from his cherry colored cheeks._

"_You'll never leave me for someone else right?" Sasuke spat breathlessly._

_Jerking back slightly, Naruto found the question to be strange. "Where is this coming fr—"_

"_Swear you won't leave me for someone else." Sasuke's gaze was desperate, needy, like the answer to the question was vital to his makeup—to his next necessary breath. Peculiarly, it wasn't like him to need reassurance but Naruto wasn't below giving it to him. __**Everyone**__ needed a little reassurance from time to time._

_Flushed with a looming sadness, Sasuke released the small wrist to stroke his hot face. Sasuke moved the pregnancy softened hair from confused blue eyes. Ashamed, he looked down, feeling like a complete basket case._

_Sasuke was fragile right now, more like unstable. If this was what Sasuke wanted to hear, then Naruto would tell him just that until he was satisfied. "Sasuke, I'm not going to leave you for someone else." He drew the uselessly dangling hand to his large stomach with a smile. "Remember…? __**Our **__baby? Everyday she grows bigger and stronger inside of me…And you're the only person I would ever want to experience the vast, scary endeavor of parenthood with because you're my one and only."_

_Stunned, Sasuke was shot for words, not expecting such convincing words to come from the mouth of the pregnant blond._

_He rubbed the stomach under his palm; happy that he had more than any other man could ever get from Naruto—a child._

_If Kiba knew, he wouldn't feel so confident about romancing Naruto. In the proverbial sense, Sasuke had won. In the future, if Kiba, tried to separate them, he wouldn't just be separating them, he would be separating their family._

_Sasuke pulled Naruto into his embrace, his large body engulfing the smaller one. Naruto pressed his face into his chest, holding onto the back of the white hoodie. "You only fall in love for the first time once Sasuke," The sweet muffled voice told him, cheerfully._

_Sasuke smiled, holding on even tighter._

_Naruto was right. Those initial feelings would never emerge again with anyone because you would constantly be comparing, expecting the onset of that one firework—that one spark. It would be hard—unsatisfying at best._

_Burying his face into the fresh spring scented blond ruffles, Sasuke thought that if Naruto knew how much he loved him, he would be terrified._

"_Did you apologize to Kiba?"_

"_Of course I did," the dark haired boy ominously said._

…

**December 22**

_The thunderous drilling noise and thick sound of hammering clouded Sasuke's thinking. He methodically rapped his wrench against the skyline's radiator._

"_Kakashi," He said in his usual monotone level. The man with a bandana tied around his face, dressed in standard automobile repair attire approached Sasuke inferring the male was having a hard time concentrating on the easy repair._

"_Yes, little Sasuke?" The wayward haired man mischievously grinned._

_Sasuke gritted his teeth as a frown marred his gorgeous face. "Don't call me that."_

_Kakashi mockingly giggled, enjoying teasing the teenage boy._

_Sasuke placed the wrench down on the oil stained towel on the ground, standing to pull off his fingerless gloves._

"_What's the matter, Sasuke?" Kakashi seriously questioned, realizing Sasuke was having trouble speaking up._

_His burly muscles flexed as he wiped his dirty hands on a yellow polyester towelette._

_In car oil drenched wife beater and dirtied Timberlands, Sasuke slammed the hood of the car trying to filter out the noise of other employees to smash his incoherent thoughts together._

"_I need more work because," He looked into his mysterious dark eyes with trepidation. "Naruto's pregnant and I need to support him and my unborn child." Sasuke found the courage search into the light haired man's eyes to read his lack of reaction. He was quiet seeming like he was drinking in the information bit by bit, piece by piece._

"_So you did replace your hand with Naruto—" Kakashi stopped when effortlessly dodged an incoming wrench. "Maahh, no need to be so violent. This is a happy occasion. You're going to be a daddy!" Kakashi smiled, one eye transforming into a strange upside down u._

_Sasuke angrily huffed, balling his fist. Only Kakashi could turn this serious question into child's play. A true idiot. If he had no automotive skills, he would be a bum on the sunset strip begging for spare change._

"_Though you need to spend more time with Naruto, I can increase your hours. But I'd much prefer to just supply you with a bonus for the next year or so. Children are a blessing but they're so goddamn expensive." Kakashi dolefully shook his head. "How far along is he?"_

"_About five months and five days," Sasuke said slightly shocked. Much like Naruto, he had forgotten that there were people in this world that were willing to help them at the drop of a hat._

"_He's pretty far along," Kakashi appeared thoughtful for a second, "Consider it done, daddy." Kakashi smiled. "I can't wait to meet the little tike. I'm going to be an uncle even though I'm much too young," Kakashi dramatically drawled, knowing at the age of 28, he was not overly young to be an uncle._

_Sasuke scoffed, lifting his wrench. "I'm not letting anyone like you anywhere near my child."_

"_Mahhhhhh, why?" Kakashi's free eye widened, swimming in a sea of tears. "I have to teach your child about the joys of sex—lots and lots of sex and, oh, life as well."_

_Sasuke's eye twitched as he listened to all the nonsense Kakashi spewed. "I have to brighten—"_

"_Corrupt—"_

"_Brighten her intelligence, further her knowledge, and her liven her future," Kakashi happily joined his hands together. "Yes, it would be an honor to be involved in my niece's life."_

"_I didn't offer," Sasuke proceeded to reopen the hood of the inactive car, hovering above the ground._

"_Oh, Sasuke you're too cruel. I guess I'll just have to charm Naru-chan into allowing me to spend time with your daughter. He could never refuse such a handsome face."_

"_Handsome for a gremlin."_

"_Sasuke."_

_Hearing the seriousness overtake the jest, Sasuke quit examining the radiator and turned to his boss. "Are your parents okay with the pregnancy?"_

_Sasuke looked away. "I don't—I don't know."_

"_Sasuke, if you or Naruto need anything, don't be afraid to ask. Alright?"_

_Sasuke saw the sincerity dripping from the man's voice. He nodded turning back to the car finding it sad he could never accept his help._

…

**December 24**

_Gloomy sapphires found little alleviation in the star coated sky above his head. According to his mother, 'there was a world of possibilities staring back,' every time they went star gazing as a family. When he was barely two and a half feet tall, he would scurry into the enormous meadow and he and his father would pick out a star to wish on. Each time they picked a different quadrant of the sky—they even named them._

_And now… everything was different. They were worlds apart. Strangers. Filled with hatred—indifference._

_Hell was the place he called home. A house. Was a house a really home with no loved ones? Of course not. It was house, storage for material possessions. Nothing more, nothing less._

_It was yesterday that his father validated his point when he stormed into the room, threatening to ruin anyone's life that he or Sasuke told about the pregnancy. He refused to have his career suffer because of that he and that 'ingrate', Sasuke's stupidity. Naruto's hormones took over and he angrily told his father not to come into his personal space disrespecting him and his boyfriend while commanding such reprehensible requests._

_Shizune was confused; she didn't plan on catering to such a dysfunctional home. She quit her last daycare job for the peace of mind while trying to keep a piece of her mind. He was the mayor, an ideal one too. Eloquent, courteous, intelligent—through the television. She watched the explosive screaming match in disbelief. Not only did camera add ten pounds but also made personalities appear nicer than they really were._

_He was surprised that when he started crying and begging his father to get out that Shizune stepped in and demanded that his father leave immediately. He was pregnant and he was clearly stressing him out. Minato didn't like the 'help' bossing him around in his own home but he saw him struggling to breathe. Snorting, Minato found the door, saying he could care less about Naruto._

_Shizune proceeded to embrace him and soothe his pouring tears. Since then, he decided that she wasn't as bad as he initially thought she was. He assumed because he was hired by Minato that she was concurrently corrupted like the miserable man. He guessed he was wrong._

'_He made his own bed now he has to lie in it.'_

_His own individualized version of hell arrived on his door step and never left. Not a home. Couldn't be._

_He wrapped Sasuke's jacket sitting on the concrete Greek-inspired bench in the dormant flower garden behind the manor. Wiggling in closer to the forgotten male, he felt bad that he couldn't support Sasuke at his banquet because he father restricted to the house, threatening to place security on the home to keep him inside._

_Sasuke was hurt but he quickly slipped back into his granite façade, sucking up the pain. __Was the distance between them growing?_

_He couldn't be what he wanted to be to Sasuke—not that Sasuke cared, he knew the situation—but Naruto cared. In fact, it worried him. People who couldn't happily be together usually ended up apart…_

_At the ceremony, they announced Sasuke as the football MVP, boasting about the varsity teams' advancement into state regionals._

_Naruto couldn't have been more proud. Sasuke was doing excellent despite their family's scruples with the upcoming birth of his first child._

_He was so amazing that sometimes he didn't feel like he deserved him._

_Peeling himself from the flypaper of his thoughts, Naruto shivered slightly in the sunless dark. "Can you believe it's Christmas Eve? It's been a long year," Naruto's popcorn reminiscent voice crackled, turning to Sasuke. The chill drilled through his flesh, proving the jacket was not enough to keep him warm._

_Sasuke was in just a t-shirt and jeans, not even the slightest trace of goose bumps forming. He looked at the small red nose and bundled form huddled next to him on the bench. His pajama bottoms and slippers didn't provide the amount of warmth he needed but he stubbornly insisted on star gazing tonight._

"_It's too cold for you to be out here." Sasuke affectionately touched the tip of his nose. "We should go inside."_

_The red rose bushes swayed and the twinkling specs of hope scattered across the perpetually ebon yonder emblazed above their heads, interfered with the sadness wrenched into the side profile of Sasuke's loved one._

"_In a minute," Naruto thoughtfully answered back, drawing circles with his feet on the paved pathway. "It's almost Christmas… A year from now our lives are going to be completely different no matter what happens." Sasuke heard a slight quiver in his voice. "But I can't help but think what if—next year we don't have our daughter?" He distraughtly sobbed, a shiver casting the reason for his dejected aura._

"_Don't say things like that, Naruto. You'll only worry yourself to death. Try to think positive. Okay, babe?" By the time Sasuke finished, Naruto was warmed by the familiar heat of Sasuke's embrace. Nuzzling, he fell into the curve of his neck, his emotional spiral calming._

"_I'll try to, just for you." Another slight wind drifted through the night and pale lips left behind a trail of beautiful, protective butterflies behind on the others'. A tangle of inky hair and gasp caused the fear to surface as they both realized what they both stood to lose._

…

**January 28**

_Every day he felt his body expanding, accommodating for the restless baby inside of him. She never slept long, only shifting in his uterus every so often, looking for a comfortable position. He had hell trying to get her to pipe down so he could get some shut eye. He tried everything but the little one just refused to settle._

_When he had first experienced her kicking, he sat up in the sofa and secured his stomach with one hand. Sasuke nervously watched the uncertainty skate across his face. On the second impact, he giggled, calling Sasuke over._

"_C'mere. Feel this." He gently pulled Sasuke's hand to his center._

_Sasuke waited to feel the patches movement of the child underneath his fingertips with an impatient anticipation. When he did, he smiled. His baby girl was healthy and stretching around in her mother's womb._

"_Isn't it great? She's so strong—almost like she's a little ninja or something." Naruto laughed again._ "_Ahhh, I love her so much," He said, feeling his heart swell._

"_Me too." Sasuke smirked._

_Since the day, she proceeded to exercise her new found freedom, driving him insane with her constant kicking. He only got relief when Sasuke suggested he talk to the baby to see if that would calm her._

_Hopefully at his point she recognized his voice._

_Sasuke got on level with Naruto's stomach and lifted his shirt for direct contact. She had kicked when Sasuke told her all about all the father and daughter adventures they would embark on. The consecutive kicks slowly died down to stillness. He couldn't believe it; the baby had fallen asleep to the sound of Sasuke's smooth, velvety voice._

_Now he could get some restful sleep._

_Naruto kissed him—he was his savior, like always._

…

**March 31**

_They would talk to their daughter every single day. Sasuke would lie in his lap and tell her stories, talk about his day, and tell her all the ways she could pull one over on her mother… All the things to do—not to do. Everything he was going to teach her. He even occasionally spoke to her in Japanese._

_He would get lost in their one-sided conversations, referring to her as 'daddy's little girl'. She would respond to Sasuke with light kicks just like the doctors said she would._

_Sasuke was going to be the sweetest father known to man. She was probably going to be a daddy's girl, Naruto could feel it._

_Every night, Sasuke would kiss his belly and tell his daughter goodnight—Naruto as well._

…

_In the coming weeks, Naruto was humungous and only getting bigger. His feet were swollen and his back was sore from lugging around pure water weight. Sometimes he faltered at the false labor signs and painful contractions but he remembered it wasn't quite his due date. Relieved he wasn't having the baby, he would usually just wait for the pain to pass and resume his normal schedule._

_His diet consistently increased and so did his cravings. It was ice cream mixed with pickle juice, topped with Louisiana hot sauce._

_Oh, his baby better be healthy when she was born._

'_When she was born…' he peacefully hummed, singing a song to his baby._

_At times, the thought over joyed him and others, the thought terrified him. What if his parents didn't change their mind? What would he do if he and Sasuke had to give her up for adoption? What would happen to him and Sasuke? Would Sasuke even want him anymore?_

_His mind reeled—all the time—and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He worried everyday… All day. He never told Sasuke that he had these concerns. It was better he keep it to himself. He thought that if he put on a happy grin and engaged in happy things that in reality, he might be happy. Unfortunately, life didn't operate that way. Hell, the human mind didn't operate that way._

_He sat and worried to the point he would fall short of breath and he would feel a dull ache in abdomen._

_Still he didn't tell Sasuke. He would just worry him._

_Sasuke had so much on his plate. He didn't need to eat his whiny complaints too._

_In junction with the plight of the newborn growing inside him, there was the issue of his mother. She was always slinking around, trying to be present for him like a parent should be. Too bad she failed the task miserably. Certainly, she failed at being a mother but more so, she failed at being a woman._

_Naruto didn't need to ask Kushina to know she never talked to Minato about the adoption proposal. The mention would simply anger him and she didn't want to do anything that would cause her to fall out of her husband's favor. Seemingly, that's all that mattered to the trophy wife._

_She tried to sit down and spend time with him but he wasn't having it. The hypocrisy was suffocating and the deception was unbearable._

_Being around her literally made him ill._

_He told Shizune to keep her away just so he could breathe. She agreed and took it upon herself to protect the boy she had come to love like a little brother._

_The last time he spoke to his mother, he told took the time to reference what he asked for months ago. She stammered and brought up the issues of conflicting schedules. Naruto merely held his hand up. 'It's rude to talk with so many lies in your mouth.'_

_He hadn't remembered the last time he had seen her and he thought that it was probably better that way. If he needed anything, he would either tell Shizune or call Kakashi or Tsunade. The people who actually valued his existence besides Sasuke._

_Speaking of Sasuke—he groggily asked Naruto if he could stay home with him today while Shizune picked up his clothes and organized the baby girl items he begged her to pick up. When Naruto told Sasuke he was going to school no matter how much sweet talking he did, Sasuke kindly murmured a 'please' and Naruto couldn't help but laugh. With the spring sun peeking through the shut blinds and the peaceful silence pouring into the room, their bodies intertwined under the velvety comforter, the moment was perfect… It was—_

_Gasping like he had just hit a cat with a car, Naruto quickly grabbed for a blank index card from the pile he was using to study for his online science exam and dutifully wrote something down._

_Bouncing around, Naruto proudly looked at the card. "Shi Shi! Look!"_

_Shizune threw the last of the clothes in the hamper, hoping Naruto wasn't calling to show her another stupid episode of Jerry Springer. Leaning over the sofa Naruto was rocking, she tilted her head to the side, her black hair curtaining her beautiful face. Naruto happily handed her the note. "Won't it be a pretty name?" He asked with a grin._

_Reading it, Shizune's dark eyes twinkled and her lips jubilantly upturned. "It's beautiful, Naruto."_

_She returned the card, relieved Naruto was so happy. His clear blue eyes beamed and his bright rosette cheeks illuminated the room as he spoke, facing the woman behind the couch. "Thanks… I can't wait to show Sasuke."_

_He timidly twirled the card in his hand. "Do you think he'll like it?" He asked._

"_No," She answered with standing up straight._

_Naruto frowned, his confidence waning._

"_I think he'll love it."_

_Naruto smiled again, feeling compelled to say something that he had been holding in for some time. "Shizune?"_

_She stopped walking back the mess near the computer desk and concernedly looked back at Naruto. "Yes, Naruto?"_

"_Um, I just wanted to say, thanks for all being there for me. You know? Through all the madness with my parents and… everything."_

_Walking back to the adorable blond, she ruffled his hair. He cutely scrunched his nose and for a second felt like he was small again._

"_Don't mention it. You drive me to madness sometimes, but you're worth it," She smiled, removing her hand from the unruly locks going back to find a place for all the orange baby booties she bought last Sunday._

…

"_Here, tell me what you think," Naruto turned the index card over to his boyfriend next to him on the sofa._

_Sasuke read the word on the card repeatedly, mouthing the words, tasting it on his tongue._

_When Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes he saw rivulets of compassion as the soulful spheres sheepishly glimpsed at the small slip and scratchily whispered, "Serenity… It's the feeling I get when I'm with you."_

_With a bone crushing bear hug that threatened to rearrange Naruto's figure, Sasuke's lips moved to mutter near his ear, "I love it."_

**April 14**

"_Good morning baby," Naruto's colossal abdomen entered through the kitchen followed by the rest of his petite body. His diminutive frame made his belly look exponentially disproportionate in comparison. Nine months pregnant today, Naruto glowed with a million watts bright smile, cradling the sides of his swollen middle. He inhaled the temptingly scrumptious aroma of skillet cooked veggies, slipping to the side of Sasuke in knee high socks._

_Glancing up from the sizzling pan of scrambled eggs, he looked at the mother of his soon to be child and smiled—a true smile._

"_Wait—What are you still doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school, mister?" Naruto asked, squinting as an eyebrow shot to his hairline._

_Sasuke skillfully maneuvered the spatula the yellow cuisine in the Teflon pan, periodically looking up at the gorgeous male using the counter for support. "It's close to your due date and I don't want to risk missing the delivery of my beautiful baby girl. So… I'll be off until the baby is born. Consider it __**my**__ maternity leave." Sasuke smirked, scraping the vegetable eggs into a plate next to the stainless steel stove._

_Naruto smiled looking down at the small meal, "Since I'm here, I decided to make you a 'hearty' breakfast."_

"_Aren't you the sweetest?" Naruto rhetorically asked, still rubbing his stomach. While he was sleeping, Sasuke was down here preparing breakfast for when he awoke. A pleasant surprise for someone who usually had to struggle to get down the stairs in the morning. Small favors made him feel special and accounted for. He suspected it was Sasuke's subconscious thanking him for baring his first child but he could never be sure and he would never be as awkward as to ask._

_Sasuke slid the plate closer, nonverbally offering the meal to Naruto. He accepted, feeling his mouth water. He would have devoured the green and red peppered meal with his mouth—with no utensils—but he had to draw the line somewhere. He was going to be a mother—decorum was a must._

"_I made your favorite." Sasuke pointed to the marble bar behind him._

_Naruto looked over to see two cream cheese spread bagels. "Oh my god! My ideal New York breakfast component. Oh my gosh, I love you." Naruto quickly walked over to inspect the perfect cinnamon and raisin bagels. Pulling the plate closer, a pain blossomed from the depth of his uterus, launching him forward into the corner portion of the bar. He held on, sweat leaking onto his skin. Another lightening of pain slammed his nerves and he whimpered, gasping for available oxygen. "Sasuke… The baby…"_

_Whirling to the wounded grunt, Sasuke dashed over, not expecting Naruto to collapse in his arms._

…

_It's not normal to faint when you're in labor. Hint Hint. –wink, wink-_

_And Stay Tuned. DH gets fucking messy from here because this is where the real story begins. If you can handle it, lemme know ;)_

_Reviews are always appreciated. If you want more, I'll never know unless you tell me D:_

_Every reader knows, it inspires the author, but more importantly it makes us smile (:_

_Thanks. Hearts and Love._

_Future__** Preview**__*_

"_**Stay away**__ from my child. I am __**not**__ going to fucking warn you again." A flutter of murderous intent became visible in the young Uchiha's eyes and the united spouses stepped away from the nursery bed tagged, 'Serenity, Uchiha.'_


	8. Forlorn

Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru.

_CH0__**8**__: Forlorn_

_Sasuke couldn't believe this—from the emergency numbers he punched into the kitchen's landline__phone, to the sight of Naruto's unconscious body being strapped to a stretcher, to the small search party he sent out looking for his older brother, Itachi. It all had to be some sick joke. This couldn't be his life he was watching from this shabby, run-down theatre—it had to be someone else's._

_The ride in the ambulance killed his optimism as he produced a vice grip on Naruto's hand, barking questions at the cohesive team of paramedics. 'Is he going to be alright? Why did he faint? Is he breathing?' In the crowd of equipment and emergency medicines on the organized shelves, they maneuvered around the metal frame of the stretcher calling numbers and strange EMT language at each other—giving indefinite answers to Sasuke._

_He was fine. He was talking to him—happy and__glowing__like he always was. Then he was in his arms, eyes closed, body limp._

_Sasuke panicked, calling out Naruto's name but his hoarse voice was only met with silence. Leaning down, he inwardly rejoiced when he realized that Naruto was still breathing. Immediately, Sasuke was on the phone with a dispatcher, begging for help. It led him here—his sweaty palms clutching Naruto's lifeless hand as a team of medical providers scrambled around him like the eggs he had cooked prior. He was permanently reminded that life changes without warning. It was one unconformable blip to the next, shadowing the small steps between, leaving you more confused and emptier than before. That was life, always rolling with the punches, regardless if you were ready to take them or not._

_He didn't even waste time pulling a chair to Naruto's bedside as he watched them calculate Naruto's blood pressure and heart rate through the blazing monitor mounted to the wall. His grey eyes darted from Naruto's sleeping form to a hand scratching numbers on Naruto's chart._

"_No signs obvious of signs of labor. BP 130 over 90."_

"_That's high," A neighboring__nurse__said as she frantically fumbled with IV cords, her eyes searching for the prominent vein in Naruto's wrist. Effectively locating it, she smoothly inserted a flexible catheter's needle into Naruto's left wrist. An array of thoughts rebounded in his head as the doctors and their assistant nurses cut through Naruto's spring pajamas on the hospital bed, discarding them into the waste bin and replacing them with a teal patterned hospital gown._

_He offered the caretakers Naruto's name and his own. They quickly verified their relation in case he wasn't legally allowed to be present during any procedure. Discovering he was the father of the child, they permitted him to remain alongside Naruto for moral support should he awake._

_The female intern immediately paged security, ordering them to block off this portion of the floor specifically for Naruto's care. Presumably they recognized the surname Uchiha or Namikaze. It was hospital policy to keep patients' privacy, just that, private. Luring any media attention would be counterproductive. Their objective was to eliminate the possibility of current patients or guests snapping photos of the mayor's pregnant son. Damage control was the solution to the controversial popularity of the sitting mayor, Minato Namikaze. _

_Hallway barricades were placed in front of the hospital door, shutting down pieces of the maternity ward and using the small facilities to the ailing boy. They weren't aware if any lurking reporter discovered Naruto was checked into this particular hospital, but they didn't care. They were obligated to protect their patients from any wandering reporters looking for a story or new damning evidence to publish._

_While the doctors were in the process of checking his vitals and examining his heart rate, Sasuke could hear the buzz of the hectic commotion in the hallways and the loud overhead speakers. OR doctors sprinted through the halls of the maternity ward, stethoscopes bouncing against their collarbones, dodging incoming carts of surgical tools. The earshot sound of rubber screeching on the tile and the frustrated clap of doors slamming against their hinges stirred his blood. His eyes deadset on Naruto's round waist and parted lips—on those covered blue eyes, the hairs on his body stood on end at the blood curdling screams that ricocheted off the eerily white walls combined with the faint undertone of someone crying. Death. People died here. Everyday._

_The chaos generated fear through Sasuke like an electrical charge to a cord. Just outside this door, people were helplessly losing their grip on the miracle of life simply because it was there turn to go. Just outside this door, patients were diagnosed with terminal conditions and given a time stamp on the amount time they had left to walk this earth. Just outside the door, surgeons were shaking their heads as they delivered their practiced monologues. Just outside the door—people died._

"_What do you mean you couldn't save him?" A scratchy wail sliced through the routine hospital disorder._

_He flinched, jumping inside his own skin. Today could be the day he could be crying because he was the one who lost a loved one—hollering because it was his fault._

_Lost in some alternate paradise, Sasuke felt like he was forcefully shoved into the perils of reality's cage, unable to break free from the chains of delusion. Another paradise where he lived with Naruto, where having this child would be as easy as breathing—a dynasty of love and trust._

_Easy? When it came to them, nothing ever was just__**easy**__._

_It was exactly what he called it—a paradise. 'Are paradises even real?' he asked himself. Aren't they usually just figments of your extensive imagination? Of your deepest desires and your greatest wishes? Everything you ever wanted but could never have?_

_A grainy, faded memory—of beauty that would infuriate the gods—Naruto's rosy cheeks, treasured smile, transparent blue irises clearer than the photic layer of the clearest tropic waters, the blondest shag of spiked hair—obscured his vision, forcing him to wonder if by the end of the day that's all he would have. His memories. His memories of a broken paradise._

_That he would be the one screaming and asking why this was happening. Why all of this was happening to him._

_A small motion inside his shaking palm startled him from the onset of depression._

_Naruto groaned and shifted onto his side, his cloudy blue eyes fluttering open to a haze of confusion. "What's going on?" Naruto's mangled question reached the doctor as he examined his torso with the ultrasound, moving around the transducer over the gelled area._

"_Naruto, you fainted in your home and your boyfriend told me you were experiencing pain and pressure in your abdomen at the time of your collapse. Is this true?"_

_Naruto nodded, still looking so confused and mentally dislocated, slightly lifting his head from the elevated pillow. Sasuke studied him, moving closer as the doctor looked at the colored Doppler monitor adjacent to the bed. There was clearly activity as the hues of emerald, violet, blues, sunshine yellows danced across the screen. His blue eyes flicked to the screen as he looked back at his boyfriend._

"_We're still trying to find the source of your pain and the reason why you passed out," His voice raced, as the nurses moved alongside him, preparing for the worst._

_Naruto nodded, breathing shallowly, feeling Sasuke charge all the positivity into crushing his fragile hands. "Sasuke, it hurts." He rubbed his palm and pulse oximeter mounted index finger over his waist that mimicked the shape and size of the moon. As he said whispered out the last word, his heart rate slightly spiked, despite being stable for the amount time he was unconscious._

_Sasuke glanced at his Naruto's hand. Why was Naruto in such intense pain? They said there 'were no obvious signs of labor', which meant there were no contractions around the baby, so why was he complaining of pain?_

"_I-I'm scared…" Naruto painfully sobbed apparently beyond the realm of tears, his agony filtering through his throat as he referred to the contractions of pain in his stomach._

_Sasuke could feel the oscillation of misery ping pong between them as a pang of terror fired into his system from the horrified blue eyes. Accounting for the oxygen around him, the blond took advantage of it, his lungs soaking it in generously as he mentally begged some unknown entity for mercy. Mercy for himself, Serenity, and Sasuke._

_Another clap of pain welled in his lower uterine wall—like a tearing—as he wished for a sign of salvation that he could cling to—hope._

"_Naruto, it's going to be okay. I'm here." Sasuke kissed the back of the panicking blond's weak hand and then pressed the soft and clammy hand into his cheek. Naruto unnoticeably calmed at knowing that Sasuke was near and that he wasn't leaving him even though it was a difficult time. He was the type of support Naruto needed. Promising to never leave him—making good on his promise. For better or for worse, like there was already a ring on his finger._

_Naruto felt like smiling but the pain was piecing through his ability to do anything positive, including visually thanking Sasuke for never leaving his side and getting him and their daughter help._

_So strong; his rock, everything he would ever need. Even if he was homeless, hungry, and helpless, as long as Sasuke by his side, his life would still be complete._

"_We're going to conduct a quick examination and then attempt to deliver the baby," The doctor lowly whispered to the nurse, trying to maintain a calm tone in the room for the sake of the pregnant boy._

_Sasuke lacked knowledge of a woman's anatomy, leaving him even more clueless than the doctors. He wished to question Naruto further about how the pain felt and how intense it was on a scale from one to ten. He knew best; it was his body after all. If he could describe what he felt, there was a better chance the medical team could find out why he fainted, stop the pain, and achieve the ultimate goal of delivering their healthy baby girl. But before he could even shoot the question, Naruto's heaving steadily increased as slimy perspiration smeared across his forehead, more over his entire body. His body's alterations caused the informative observation to be more difficult. With one last struggling breath, Naruto's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell against the sheets, his heart rate skyrocketing through the roof._

_A sequence of shrieking beeps burst through the room as they all quickly regarded the heart rate monitor, their feet gearing into motion._

"_He's going into shock!" The nurse announced, pulling on a pair of latex gloves looking at the monitor of Naruto's dropping_

_The doctor pushed around Sasuke, severing their hold. He yanked out a pen flash light from his white doctor coat, examining Naruto's pupils. "Prep him for an emergency cesarean section—stat!" He shouted, as the nurses and the extra doctor raced around the room, pulling out various tools and cleaning off Naruto's stomach of the warm fluid._

_Sasuke stood in shock, a different type of shock—an emotional state of shock. "What's wrong with him? Why is he going into shock?" Sasuke demanded, arrows of confusion pinning his eyes to Naruto's distressed but unconscious face, the grip on Naruto's hand increasing as his blood pressure deplete by the second._

"_Sir, I'm going to need you to leave the room!"_

…

_Sitting in an empty waiting area, a viewing broadcasting breaking news on the flatscreen hanging on the kid-friendly wall, Sasuke was listlessly hunched, with his elbows planted into his knees. The flung magazines and the division of newspaper sections on the green diamond patterned cushion chairs shaped a skittish wavelength in the room._

_Were the previous waiting room occupants scared shitless just like he was right now?_

_After Naruto was rushed to the operating room for the emergency procedure, Sasuke felt like the pressure from the situation was going to cause his head explode. Watching Naruto's unresponsive body being wheeled out of the room on a gurney suctioned a whole new hoard of helplessness from him._

_Naruto said he was scared… and he couldn't help him._

_It was completely out of his hands. He had to surrender his faith to trained doctors that weren't as emotionally invested as him. Even though they were certificated there was still room from error, that could cost him the love of his life and his first child._

_Shuttering, he rubbed his hand over his unemotional face._

_Feeling like he was entombed in some flaky, murky mirage, Sasuke pondered what his parents would say if they knew Naruto was on a hospital bed,__**dying**__. Would they blame him? Maybe. Would they hate him for causing this? Like they didn't already. Would they argue that they couldn't handle a pregnancy and definitely not parenthood? Absolutely._

_They would curse his name and use Naruto's condition as justification to put a noose around their idea of a family—a new family, but he didn't care. More than anything he just wanted Naruto and his baby to pull through with their lives. Because if Naruto didn't make it…_

_Sasuke exhaled like a rabid beast, tossing his back against the chair, bleeding regret._

_If Naruto never had never gotten pregnant—this would have never happened. Any of this._

_It was an accident—it wasn't like he lied about a using a condom when they had sex. The condom just broke during their rigorous sack session. They weren't going bareback and hoping for the best. He may or may not have changed condoms before they went back at it—he didn't remember. And now, it was inconsequential. It was all already done. There was no use harping on something unchangeable._

_Maybe if he had never coerced Naruto into the wilds of sex – he would be safe from the harm of a hospital, safe from the spears of hurtful words his own parents hurled his way, safe from pretending to be big and grown when in fact knew he was a child. But it was all subjective. Naruto could have said no and he could have not pressed the issue. They could have practiced a normal, romantically sexless life modeled after some of their abstinent peers._

_Except, it didn't happen that way. The fire that hit their bed sheets was like fever, a maelstrom of flames they couldn't resist._

_It started with touching, slight grinding—heavy petting, escalated to mutual masturbation, then progressed into oral sex and then finally the grand deed—after Naruto told him he was ready, practically begging for them to do it. Since that day in middle school, there was no looking back. It sort of became a part of them. A different way to say 'I love you.'_

'_Instead of saying it, I'll show it.'_

_A different way to show they were willing to give up everything in exchange for nothing—putting down the cards and folding._

_He was aware of Naruto's strange but ineffable ability to bare children before they had intercourse. The blond had decided to tell him the day after he drowned in a sea of pleasure and almost allowed him to push inside him… without protection. After he systematically categorized his brain, feeling the lubed head press into his ass, he fearfully pushed him off, pulling on every shred of clothing that he had discarded to the floor, stammering some recitation that he couldn't comprehend. Naked and confused, he watched Naruto speed from the room like the serial killer from Texas Chainsaw massacre was dashing behind him—killing utensil intact. Running his fingers through his dark hair, he fell against the bed wondering what the hell he did wrong. The next day afterschool, he was red, blushy and embarrassed as he muttered, 'I have something to tell you... P-promise me that you won't break up with me?' Watching Naruto's cute features mold into a worrisome perch of insecurity, he thought that there was a lurking doom of a secret between them. As priceless and as rare as the passing of Hayley's comet through the night sky, Naruto was worth any of his shortcomings. Coming to a concrete conclusion, he quickly agreed not to shed him because of any secret he shared. Breaking expectations, Naruto said something much more innocent, much more exhilarating, 'I-I can get p-pregnant. I know it sounds weird for a boy to say but it's the truth. That's why I freaked out yesterday. M'sorry.' He adorably bit his lip and crunched his perfect blond eyebrows, worried that Sasuke was repulsed by the uncovered secret._

_Sasuke remembered grinning and coughing out a chuckle in the school parking lot. He wasn't disgusted or worried like Naruto initially thought he would be. On the contrary, the news had a paradoxical effect._

'_Fucking awesome,' He said with a smile._

_Ultimately, it was a non-issue for Sasuke. They would use protection until the day they both decided they wanted a child of their own—a family of their own._

_It was just like dating a girl—something he had never done and would never do. But Naruto wasn't a girl; but he imagined that sexually active girls that weren't medicated with prescribed birth control feared getting pregnant too. Knowing that, he felt like Naruto's fear was legitimate. They were much too young for a child, considering they had plenty of time to reach that stage._

_Plenty of time…_

_Time—wasn't something that was on his side._

_His head was booming with things that he should have said to Naruto._

_He might never see him alive again… And there were things he never said._

_I love you and that'll never change regardless of time or hardships._

_I will never leave you, nor forsake you._

_Do you know you're the only one that I've ever wanted? Ever will want? Even if you don't want me anymore?_

_Will you make the happiest man on Earth and allow me the honor of marrying you?_

_You're the only one that would ever put up with me._

_If I didn't have you, I don't where I would be._

_His dim grey eyes lowered as he pulled his phone out the pocket of his dark grey sweat pants._

_The thought hadn't occurred to him but he hadn't called their parents yet… and he wasn't going to._

_There was only person he wanted to talk to and that person was out of his reach._

_Since that faithful day in seventh grade, when entered his older brother's room only to find a spotless, expanse of space free of furniture or personal belongings and his brother, he had heard nothing from his brother. Not one text. Not one phone call. God forbid a personal visit._

_Miraculously, that day, Naruto was there beside him to see the horrific situation—thank God—to comfort him and dispel all the negative thoughts climbing into his head._

_Naruto deduced by the scrupulous cleanliness that Itachi wasn't forced to leave but simply relocated on his own. Feeling betrayed, he looked back into the room, realizing that Naruto was right._

_Beginning an exhaustive search, he questioned every person he could possibly think of about his brother. All of Itachi's college friends, acquaintances, his own family members—aunts, uncles, their grandparents, even friends of the family. They had not spoken to him recently, nor did they have any information on Itachi's current whereabouts._

_He called the only cellphone number for Itachi he had about a million times and only received an out of service automated message._

_He reached dead end after dead end with no resolve. Then the day came where he extensively questioned his father. Initially, he denied knowing where Itachi went but then when he changed the round of questions, his answers changed as well._

_Itachi's trail went cold after a few weeks._

'_Did you have anything to do with Itachi leaving?' He grunted instead of flat out denying it._

_He didn't give further reasoning on why he did what he did to his own son; all he did was critique him for questioning his methods._

_Words that were glossed over and fine-tuned guided Sasuke to the conclusion that his own father, Fugaku, removed Itachi from his life—for an obscure reason. He even had the gull to call Itachi a bad influence on his future aspirations._

_Sasuke mentally tripped out; Itachi was the perfect inspiration for a perfect future. Perfect grades, adequate social life, a stellar track record._

_Without from his idol, his role model, he had lost a motive in life—a defined direction. Especially when he didn't know why? Why would he leave him—to deal with their hateful parents on his own—without saying anything? Did he not trust him enough to tell him why he needed to take off? Or was this some sick, twisted way of protecting him?_

_He had no idea._

_All that was clear was that Itachi took a piece of him when he disappeared, resulting in a gaping void that felt impossible to fill. But Naruto… was there with everything he willingly offered. Pure love, security, and a shelter from the shrapnel showering his wounded soul. If he didn't have Naruto, he wouldn't survive the battering life clamored him with. He would have fallen to the wayside and become irrelevantly useless long ago without Naruto's love to ward away all weights of sorrow._

_Even though he insisted Naruto give him some time and space, the stubborn blond did the exact opposite. He tenaciously smothered him with love, daily blandishing him even though he said he didn't want it—even though he knew he needed it. When Naruto found him mentally drifting, falling into the ditch of self-blame he gave tender hugs and kisses—causing his every filament to shimmer like a rising firework._

_Naruto had healed him, grown to be a part of him. Like a native piece of Kudzu with mutualistic tendencies, wrapped comfortably on the base of a strong oak tree._

_They were one…_

_And what would he do if Naruto wasn't around anymore?... His smile? His laugh?_

_What if Serenity didn't make it either?_

_How was he supposed to go on without Naruto?_

_There was no reason for him to continue on without his reason for living—existence._

_He would be alone. For the rest of his life._

'_You only fall in love for the first time once, Sasuke.'_

_There would never be anyone else for him. Naruto was made for him and him alone. He just knew it. Their love surpassed deep troughs, permeated through any barrier. Naruto was more than just a lover, than a friend, he was him._

_How could you lose a piece of yourself and still remain whole?_

'_You don't,' Sasuke sadly whispered in his head._

_A segued numbness passed over the grieved teen as he mentally stumbled at the call of his surname._

"_Mr. Uchiha," A small nurse emerged from the confines of the door, temperately approaching Sasuke's bubble of sorrow. Remaining at a safe distance, she told him that she was operating on his boyfriend._

"_How is he?" Sasuke eagerly asked, leaping from the chair to face the nurse. His grey eyes roved over her reduced attire. She was lacking the blue head covering and the pair of latex gloves usually worn in surgery._

_Sweat trickled on the back of Sasuke's neck as he shivered. Was Naruto out of surgery? Was he okay?_

_What was happening?_

"_We're still working on him," she answered in an even, level tone that slightly liquefied his alarm. A sweet subtle tone that could probably make deadly news sound like dripping honey._

_A dangerous aspect for Sasuke._

"_What's wrong with him? Why did he go into shock?" Sasuke almost got tongue tied as he gazed deeply into her uncomfortable chocolate brown eyes._

"_Naruto is placentally bleeding—due to the placenta's separation from his uterus. We have to stop the bleeding and deliver your daughter or they'll both die. Naruto's lost a large amount of blood—he'll probably need a blood transfusion," She sighed and continued._ "_The profuse blood loss is most likely because of his age. Deliveries for teenagers—typically people under the age of 20—are particularly risky."_

_Sasuke violently shook underneath his clothes like an autumn leaf…_

_Naruto was internally bleeding?_

_He figured his body couldn't handle a baby at this age. His body was still developing, making it especially difficult to support the growth of a child and the growth of his body… Fuck._

_Sasuke inhaled and held his breath, feeling the spiraling hot air burn the tissue of his lungs. Anxiety trickled into his blood as he boiled the information into his head._

_Was-was he going to die?_

"_How is he doing now?" He shakily asked, feeling the acid of dread corrupt his throat._

"…_When the anesthesiologist administered him the anesthesia, he wasn't completely unconscious when they sliced him with the scalpel. We allocated more of the drug and he seems to be stable but honestly, things don't seem salvageable," the gas extinguished at the last of the statement as she diverted from his fretful, terror rimmed eyes, swiping her honey brown bangs to the side. Lifting her chin to the six foot tall man, she repressed the abnormal amount of guilt building around them. Usually, she felt bad when people were concerned about their loved ones but in this instance she felt like they had something to lose regardless of what happened—and it felt awful._

_She wished there was more they could do; but as much knowledge and tact they had, they still weren't God._

_Hopeless. Sasuke could only imagined what Naruto felt when they cut into him—while he was still awake. He must have been scared; he told Sasuke he was scared._

_Biting his lip, he heard the nurse say, "Did Naruto ever complain about shortness of breath or pain in his lower abdomen during his pregnancy? Or anything of that nature?"_

_Sasuke shook his head slowly, feeling his knees turn into melted jelly._

"_That's odd"—there was furrow in her brow—"because these occurrences are usually caused a tremendous amount of stress on the mother. Considering Naruto is a very young mother compared to the usual age a suggested mother should be, the stress almost eliminates any chance of a healthy delivery."_

_Stress… Naruto was probably secretly burdened about the adoption mandate Fugaku and Minato proposed and planned to enforce. Even though he feigned being carefree, he most likely spent the days meticulously articulating in his head what he would say after Serenity was born to convince them to change their mind._

_He was probably feared that after she left his stomach, it would be the last time he would have her close._

_Even though he had all these things on his mind, he never said anything to him._

'_Knowing Naruto, he didn't want me to think that he was whining…'_

_If he didn't fucking survive, then it was on their fucking head, Sasuke thought bitterly biting into his tongue._

"_Mr. Uchiha, placental abruption is the leading cause of infant and maternal mortality. It could be fatal… We've contacted both your parents' cells but we didn't receive a reply. You're legally the father of the baby so maybe you could give us a guide." She intertwined her fingers as she spoke, determination steaming from her jade eyes. "If they're both unable to be saved, who should we choose?"_

_With the completion of the sentence, Sasuke wished he could lay in a tomb—buried deep inside the fallow ground._

_When did things come to this—deciding between the daughter he never met and the lover he had been with for almost 4 years?_

_Disturbed, Sasuke covered his face into his hand as his chest cavity caved from his heavy heart._

"_Sir?"_

_Stumbling from the shock, he said, "N-Naruto, please save Naruto,"_

_She nodded when he interjected, "But please—don't let it come to that…I need them both, just please." He choked on his words between his pleas, his face rescinding the necessity he felt._

_And even that might not even be enough, her eyes finished as they silently apologized._

_She compassionately nodded, turning on her heel, her back disappearing behind the knobless doors._

_Sasuke appeared to burst into a fit of tears as she strode away leaving him with nothing but his loneliness._

…

_Operating a shutdown sequence, Sasuke reseated himself back in the chair, not allowing the dormant emotions to seep in through his skin._

_He wished he could call Itachi and hear his voice, one last time. He wanted to tell him everything that was happening with Naruto and his daughter. He wanted to Itachi to give him that wise, breath-taking advice._

_Sighing, Sasuke remembered how close he was to locating Itachi earlier this month. He had gotten his hands on the phone number of a redheaded man named Sasori that looked mysteriously familiarly, almost like Gaara. Not wasting a second, he called, beginning a vague conversation that abruptly ended with him refusing to reveal Itachi's whereabouts despite the price Sasuke offered for the information._

_So close—but yet so fucking far away._

_He lost Itachi—forever—and now he was going to lose his family too—forever._

_Forever was a long time to live without someone._

_This morning could have been the last of it—woke up with him in his arms, saw his smile, heard his laugh._

'_Naruto, if it has to be this way—I'm right behind you. You won't be alone.' Sasuke promised, figuratively crossing his heart as he shut his eyes._

_If Naruto died, he would still have to surrender his little girl—his sliver of Naruto._

_He knew he would._

"_How could this have happened?" A familiar feminine voice cried outside the visitor's longue._

_Lifting his head, Sasuke was greeting by the two scowling faces, one wearing tears the other wearing a mask of hate._

_Minato and Kushina._

"_I swear if Naruto doesn't survive… I'm holding you responsible, you impudent little punk," Minato thundered wrathfully, jabbing his finger at Sasuke._

_Sniffles resounded at the ledge of Sasuke's arm rest as the red haired woman scrabbled closer to the boy tilting onto his old chucks._

"_This is all your fault! If I had kept my son away from you, none of this would have__**ever**__happened. But you're a cockroach—you always come crawling back…" Transparent liquid dispensed from her distort sapphire eyes as she sobbed, shaking with a deep-seated fit of rage._

_Mustering enough restraint to not scream back, Sasuke peered down at the slender woman that called herself Naruto's mother._

_Heated, she uplifted her elbow above her waist and curved her palm, throwing immense force behind the motion, aiming for the zone of Sasuke's chin._

_With a spark of agility, payment he received from honing his football skills, Sasuke intercepted her hand, strangling it in his merciless grip. Crunching the bones in his large hands, Sasuke slunk closer, sacrificing his exploration of patience—"If you try to put your hands on me again—" Minato obstructed any further harm from the stout Uchiha._

_Kushina winced, waggling her wrist around in a circular motion, squeezing the cramp out of the fingers Sasuke nearly crushed in his grip._

_She was partially fortunate that Sasuke didn't break a finger but partially even angrier that he had the gull to put his put his hands on her in such a manner. Did he think he was mature? Didn't he have any respect for his elders?_

_She heavily panted. "No fucking respect," She said hidden securely by Minato's back._

_Minato sewed a safety net around his wife as he courageous faced his son's dangerously despondent lover. His capillaries swelled with distaste as he leered as Sasuke's blank face shrouded with a shade of pitiless red ire. Enflamed grey eyes blazed at the equally passionate fuming man as they stalled the pending exchange of words._

"_We both know that if Naruto wasn't pregnant, he wouldn't be here," he snarled at the boy leveled at his height. "I might lose my son because of your silly mistake."_

_Sasuke effectively shook his head as he heard a riled Kushina mumble a chant of agreement._

_Observing the print of absoluteness registered on their faces—he realized that they were seriously claiming that this was solely his burden to carry._

_They stressed him to the point of illness but he caused this._

_His vision dwindled to a tiny speck as his puzzled brain crafted a jamboree of the long-lasting miracle that Naruto survived this long under their care._

_Did they even love him at all?_

"_Stop acting like you care." Sasuke scrunched his face with a staggering amount of repudiation as he glared Minato right in the eye. "You're both so __**fucking**__ disgusting…"_

_Stepping backward away from the couple, frightened that he might catch their lethal airborne disease of hypocrisy—Sasuke removed himself from the room before he too became ill._

…

_Sasuke relaxed into chair bounded outside a vacant hospital room in the hallway of the maternity ward of the hospital, devastated._

_The birth resentment Minato and Kushina bred… Did they expect him to apologize for culminating the vertices of truth in a simple sentence?_

_Most likely._

_The absence of his parents, Fugaku and Mikoto also triggered something foul in his broken spirit?_

_Was Naruto and the birth of their child so trivial that they didn't feel compelled to show?_

_Sasuke's bang covered forehead found his sweaty hand as he swallowed a barrel of his hopes and dreams. Nothing was happening the way he wanted—nothing._

_He hadn't heard anything from the operating room since the nurse had given him a periodical update and he had to admit, he was terribly worried._

_Did they finish the operation? Were they cleaning up a deceased c—_

"_Mr. Uchiha?" a silky voice called from a set of double doors._

_The previous nurse that he spoke to hasted toward him sporting disposal scrubs, obviously bearing the brunt of life-altering news._

_As she reached him, Sasuke battled to balance to his feet once last time—this time for the final outcome._

"_How did everything go? Is Naruto okay?"_

_She inhaled with a grave face as she pulled down the facemask ominously, her lips strangely turning. Sasuke heart leapt out of his ribcages, plotting a diabolical escape to a much more pleasant land. A land where it didn't suffer anymore._

_Her mouth turned into a bashful smile as she said the only words Sasuke ever needed to hear. "The cesarean section was a success. We managed to save Naruto and deliver your beautiful baby girl. She's healthy, and did I say she's beautiful?" She heartily chuckled, absorbing the relief seizing Sasuke's tense form. His imperiling nightmares deflated as he felt his shins wobble with a new founded appreciation—gratefulness for everything he had._

_A new appreciation for Naruto._

"_T-Thank you."_

_She nodded with a winning smile. "You can see both of them, now."_

_Sasuke blissfully debated which part of his family to see first. His daughter? Or his boyfriend?_

"_Have you decided on a name yet?" She cocked her head to the side, interested on what the couple chose for their only child._

_For the first time in what felt like centuries, Sasuke smiled, his eyes grazing the clean hospital tiles. "We agreed on Serenity, Serenity Uchiha."_

_Lighting up, the nurse glimpsed up at the tall Uchiha in awe._

"_C-can I see him?" Sasuke asked, deciding to pay a visit to his sweet love before his made his first visit to the new addition to his life._

"_Of course," She said leading him to Naruto._

…

_Sasuke approached the bedside, the screeching of his chair overpowering the repetitious bleep of Naruto's heart monitor. Glancing at the respirator attached to Naruto's mouth and the endless amount of indiscernible tubes and cords that propelled his heart into deliberating frenzy of confusion, Sasuke stroked the cool array of skin that was once scorching hot during the course of his pregnancy. His stony gray eyes looked on at Naruto's motionless body, his pale, colorless skin and the weight of rising and falling chest._

_His life's result was contingent on Naruto's survival… everything. Whether he lived or died._

_The touch of Naruto's skin temporarily assured him until he quickly viewed his life through a microscope—without Naruto._

_Suddenly, his body crippled into a travesty of a destructive wrecking ball destroy all confidence of emotional insurance,_

_Mulling everything over, strand by strand, he didn't know how long he sat by Naruto's side just watching observing._

_A small muffled noise ceased Sasuke's attention, recovering from his quiet stupor. Silently stirring, he witnessed Naruto weakly pull off the oxygen mask, his lively but exhausted ultramarine eyes bilaterally glancing at his startled, glum appearance. He didn't know if Naruto should be removing equipment so quickly after being operated on. For Godsakes, he had just been sliced open on a table. Contrarily, his dim vibrancy fooled one into believing he didn't just teeter between the brink of life and death. Almost captured by the clutches of death._

_His lips curved upwards, as he delivered a comely smile. "Sasuke," his innocent voice groggily called—finally blowing Sasuke up to smithereens._

_Sasuke used his heels to pull the chair closer. With no warning, he tucked his head into Naruto's neck, his other hand aimlessly ambling for Naruto's._

_Sasuke's shoulders vibrated mournfully as he choked, "I thought…you were g-going to leave me."_

_Naruto's smile slowly receded as he leaned into the tender, shape of Sasuke's gorgeous face. He lifted his hospital bracelet branded hand and combed his stiff fingers through Sasuke's hair. "I would never leave you…" His whisper roused an emotional contusion on the guard Sasuke had developed out of necessity as a survival tool, leaving him feeling battered like a boxer in a ring._

_Naruto rested his temple on the top Sasuke's head as he the other male nuzzled him lovingly—shocking himself into the reality that, yes, he was alive—here with him._

_Sasuke lamented and a sob pierced the shell he had built in this time span. Trying to be strong, trying to last long…_

_Salty tears dampened Naruto's hospital gown and his bare neck as he closed his eyes and embraced his fallen loved one._

'_He's real…'_

_Soaking in Naruto's musky scent, his smooth unblemished skin, the tickle of his blond hairs, the pulse of his heart in sync with his own—"I-I was so..s-scared."_

_Sasuke squeezed the places set between Naruto's fingers until he felt the sensation in his hand shrink into a pinnacle of numbness._

_Accepting Sasuke in his entirety, Naruto devotedly stroked his hair in an attempt to mold him back to a state of comprehensive being._

_He didn't ask about Serenity immediately despite being excited about his new baby girl—he had to tend to his first real baby, Sasuke Uchiha._

_And that was all he cared about._

…

"**Love is like the wind, you can't see it, but you can feel it all over."**

__Anonymous._

…

Aw, Poor Suke / 3

NKY.

_-Leave me something, please (:_


	9. Departure

Summary: We all often make mistakes. Nevertheless, it's best we take it in stride and use the acquired knowledge as experience for the future. Unfortunately, it's impossible to move on when you end up making the same mistake. Twice. SasuNaru.

CH0**9**: Departure

"_How're you feeling?" Sasuke questioned, taking note of Naruto's bleary eyes and slow, delayed movements._

_In the process of raking Sasuke's strained shoulders with his small fingers, he momentarily paused to rub his right eye with a lethargic smile. "Mm, tired, numb," his coarse voice trembled as he absentmindedly ran his fingers over the damp exhibition of devastation pouring down the sides of Sasuke's face, wiping them away, silently hoping to erase the blatant sorrow._

_Sasuke relished the contact, the radiation of Naruto's sparkling whirlpool of love running close, concentric circles around him. As he studied the outlay of features he spent many nights fantasizing about, obsessing over, memorizing, he denied himself the right to ravish those lips, out of respect for the phenomenal fight his love had just endured._

"_I probably look how I feel—like absolute shit." Naruto chuckled, withdrawing his hand in jest and insecurely protecting his face from Sasuke's scrutinizing gape._

_As Sasuke reached for Naruto's cold hand, lips that held a rich semblance to a smile enacted a ripple of magic. "You look beautiful," Sasuke whispered, combating unveiled blue eyes that exhumed for authenticity in glazed grey eyes. Absorbing the sincerity with a gracious smile, Naruto disentangled his hand from the captive cell and cupped Sasuke's cheek._

"_Awe, boo… Have you gone to see Serenity, yet?" Naruto asked, the evident excitement filtering through his shining voice._

_Buried maternal instincts were exposed more and more by the second as the brand new daughter they shared changed their scope on life._

_Seeing a violent spark of Naruto's bottled bliss, Sasuke felt compelled to be honest with him. "No, not yet," the Uchiha admitted, his tone still low foggy from his battle with tears earlier._

"_Can you go see her for me? Please?" Naruto asked, reducing the weight of his begging, trying not to nag the boy loyally pinned to his side._

_Understanding his pride toward creating a small human being, Sasuke accepted, nodding. Suddenly, he felt a thrill that thrust him beyond the thinning air of the stratosphere. Breathless, he summed in his head that he had a newborn daughter._To hold, to love, to care for.

_An indescribable feeling._

"_I'll go if you promise to stay put and get some rest," Sasuke reasoned the ultimatum, listlessly stroking the tender lips that coiled into a smile._

"_Ai Ai, Mon Capiton," Naruto weakly piped pulling the oxygen mask over his chin, relaxing his open lips. Sasuke planted a meaningful kiss on Naruto's temple, a leash of emotions binding him to the maternity wards' nursery._

…

"_Oh, my God," Kushina wheezed as a stripe of guilt and admiration illuminated her sallow flesh. The fluorescent glow of the tube bulb above, shone on the solidarity of the situation boiling on her skin as a heaping gob of reality clobbered her with an indestructible force._

"_She's so…" Her eyes welled with a wallop of brackish liquid as she touched the name tag with a bottomless consternation and a frightened amore. As she read 'Serenity' a rolling heat spread up from her back, through her neck and up to her cheeks. The name was gorgeous—fitting. Only something her impressively incisive son would produce. A stunning name for such a stunning creation._

"_Beautiful… I'm, I'ma—" Her voice died along with all the past notions she had about protecting this life she had. All she wanted to do now was protect this defenseless infant to the best of her ability. Not the pathetically irresponsible job she had done with Naruto, it would be a renewed role, of a true, loving… "—Grandmother."_

"_Kushina's trembling hands journeyed to the pink cotton jumper, grazing the soft material, disbelieving of its palpable existence. She winced as she looked at the signature pale skin, sheer black hair matted against a soft skull, tiny hands curled into an innocent position, dainty parted lips. A fragile creature soundly sleeping—the slow and steady rise of her chest—was so marvelous. She felt the tears stroll down her hot skin as she viewed the mirror image of Sasuke, comparing her to a miniature snow white—beautiful and pure._

_Her hands smoothed over the infant's belly, in shock. She moved her hands to the solid plastic container, holding on tightly. Slicked in an unretractable vortex, she was unable to draw her eyes away from the shape of the roundly chubby face that resembled the shape of Naruto's own. She was so pulled in; she couldn't feel the company of the other babies in the nursery, nor Minato beside her._

_She glanced over at the likes of her rigid husband, affirming her choked beliefs. "Minato, look at her—this is what Naruto almost died for." Her frizzy red tresses twirled over twine-thin arms as she rolled the impossibly small hand on her own—her senses marveling._

"_I think we should…keep her. She's our first granddaughter and she's so… innocent."_

Just like Naruto said she would be.

"_I love her," She mumbled, sniffling. A smile shattered her pleasant sadness as she drowned in Minato's gelid countenance. Undercover the currents of blankness, she thought her navy blue eyes were fooling her when Minato swallowed and looked unsurely at the new child._

"_I'm not sure about the prospects of keeping the child," Minato muttered in his hallow chest as she basked with glorious fascination over the small infant as she peacefully slept._

_Twirling the hospital bracelet, Kushina's face flooded with a tsunami of confusion. "What do you mean you're not sure about the prospects of keeping her? She's a fucking child, Minato, not a piece of luggage you despicable asshole," She whispered offensively, as the flare of repudiation boomeranged on the connection between them._

"_It's complicated…" Minato averted his eyes away to no spot in particular, his mind fleeting from one lacerating thought to another, the neurons in his brain blasting him into a dimension of uncertainty._

"_Minato, do you understand how tendentious what you're saying sounds?"_

_Minato shook his yellow locks, disconsolately, lowering his chin, blondness obscuring his mournful blue eyes._

"_For once, can you stop thinking about you and maybe just this once consider Naruto? Sasuke? This is their child and… I feel," She glimpsed at the resting child and reformed her words. "No, I know, it would be wrong to strip them of this baby. It's theirs' and we have no right to try to take it away from them."_

_Minato actively listened but took no time to formulate no reply as he left the nursery._

"_Minato, please, come back here. I'm not done speaking. Minato? Please I—" But his back disappeared past the glass that reflected an impending tragedy._

…

_Sauntering into the nursery like the night of the living dead, luckily not intercepting Minato or Kushina on the way over. Sasuke's eyes rolled from edge to edge of the Safari designed walls, trying to discover the location of the new addition to his immediate Uchiha family. Figuring the tikes' variation was arranged in alphabetical order, he quickly rushed to the end of the sixth row, looking for the tag labeled Uchiha._

_Reaching his destination, Sasuke fearfully peered at the tiny body as his breath dispersed in his throat like an atomic bomb. Swallowing hard, his gaze sweltered with a pulse of bonding love. Raising his elbow, curling his sweaty fingertips, he secured the small of her back and her head as he eased her from her rightful place. As he practiced the natural tactic of holding his baby safely, he wished Naruto could be here to see how wonderfully magnificent their daughter was. Unfortunately, he was still confined to a hospital bed in a guarded room, recuperating from labor complications. Naruto trusted him to meet their baby alone, so embodied enough love for the both of them combined._

_Sweat trickled down his lower back as he touched the swell of her round cheeks, ensuring she was really there—in his arms living, breathing._

_Parted lips came together as Sasuke wet the accumulated dryness present on his lips. His brain trailed into the possibilities—how could he possibly aid in the creation of something so perfect?_

_How could Naruto have endured such long torture even though he knew this beauty would be the result? How could she possibly look so much like him?_

_Jamming an axe into his thoughts, he witnessed Serenity gurgle and then fight to open her eyes._

_Amazed—Sasuke had to control the convulsing wobble in his limbs as he gaped into a robin egg eyes that seemed deathly reminiscent to someone he knew, someone he knew very well._

'_Your mother's eyes…'_

_Just like he had speculated what felt like millions of years ago._

_He was right._

_And to think Naruto didn't believe him..._

_A colossal grin branched from corner to corner of his lips. Serenity blinked, wordlessly wiggling in his arms, her pink booties brushing Sasuke's right arm. Tilting her head closer to his lips, Sasuke investigated Serenity's curious stare with amusement. A tickle of joy assaulted his heart as she gurgled one more time._

"_Hey, daddy's little girl," Sasuke ruggedly whispered, his smile growing as her ears perked at the familiarity._

_She knew that voice from somewhere before._

_In the womb?_

_She seemed to recollect her prior knowledge of the voice that so smoothly penetrated the womb. Piecing the jagged puzzle piece together, a slow but confident smile lit her face like candle as she concluded that, yes, Sasuke Uchiha, the man holding her so fondly, was her father._

_She remembered the nights the unseen voice that would read her stories, tell her stories, and give her endless life advice. When bedtime arrived, it was the voice that soothed her into a dark slumber when she couldn't a catch a few z's._

_The person she would have to trust to protect her and care for the rest of her life._

_Her father._

_The fundamental person would shadow her in her time of need and spoil her until she thought she regularly deserved diamond toppings on her icecream._

_She upcast her little hand to test out the feel of Sasuke's identically pale skin._

_Sasuke's stomach knotted into fretfully jovial knot as he inferred with her curiosity by grabbing her hand kissing it lightly. Her toothless smile widened as she released a dandy sound from her throat. Sasuke took it as a sign to excel and kiss her on her cheek one after the other. Nuzzling her temple, Sasuke thought he would melt at the sound of her soft, glorious laugh that inexplicably paralleled her mom's._

_His new family._

_Sasuke had read somewhere on Wed MD that babies could smile shortly after they're born. Though it would be splendid, never in his life had he imagined that his own daughter would be the one smiling and laughing so soon. Truly stupendous—amazing._

"_Daddy loves you baby," Sasuke mumbled with a compact air of conviction, his lips running along her sleek forehead as she laughed like there was no tomorrow. "It's so hard to believe we made you." Sasuke mused as her gleaming blue eyes smiled at him._

_In Sasuke's next breath in the empty nursery room corroborated the thought that he never wanted to let her go for as long as he lived._

_She was a piece of Naruto and a piece of him—a product of their love._

_And he didn't want any part of their love to disappear._

_Ever._

_Unheedingly, a dark aura pressed at the door. Sasuke peeped at what drawled on the blissful exchange between him and his newborn daughter._

"_Sasuke?" The pathetic whimpering voice that belonged to no other than his disgustingly submissive mother, accompanied by his emotionless hammer named Fugaku waltzed into the currently privatized nursery. Garbed in elegant clothing—a hand stitched Roberto Cavalli three piece suit, iced with alligator shoes was attached to his father. Bejewled Miu Miu heels was fitted on his epicurean mother, including an extravagant Ethiopian mesh shawl. Obviously where they were previously located somewhere that was too fancy to escape, even for the birth of Serenity and near death of Naruto._

_Sasuke huddled next to Serenity's area, tucking her into his neck, a thick post of rancor pinching the skin of both Mikoto and Fugaku._

_When Sasuke felt his baby's warm hands touch the space of his collar bone, it propelled him into defensive action. "Get the fuck out—now."_

_Mikoto's grey eyes displayed the scars of the mortally wounding statement. She attempted to support her reasoning. "But Sasuke—"_

"_No fucking buts—I don't want you anywhere near my baby," Sasuke's anger pulsated through the shell of cracking anger as felt his daughter constrict and loosen with the crescendo of the rising and falling wavelength of familial friction. Trying to avoid the baby from becoming fussy due to the injection of fear she received from the dynamic range of emotions he had just recently filed through, he rubbed her back assuring circles._

"_She—" Sasuke refrained from using the name of Naruto had so wittily derived from the being of their relationship. They didn't deserve to know what her name was. They weren't her family. "Doesn't need you here. All she needs is me and Naruto. Not some kooky—fucked up version of a poor excuse for grandparents, parents, much less human beings," Sasuke tongue lashed in effective whip as he heard his absentee mother muffle a weak sniffle._

_Fugaku, whose unfeeling face seemed to remain in the same expression from the time they entered the room up to this very second, chose to ignore Sasuke's orders with brazen disobedience. Advancing with the purpose of coming closer to the baby, he pulled Mikoto with him, every insult rolling off his back, as he crashed into a barrier of authentic hate._

"_**Stay away**__from my child. I am__**not**__going to fucking warn you again." A flutter of murderous intent became visible in the young Uchiha's eyes as the united spouses stepped away from the nursery bed tagged, 'Serenity, Uchiha.'_

_Mikoto couldn't mistake the ferociousness paling Sasuke's eyes—she had only seen it one other time before. When she suggested that it would probably be in his best interest to break up with Naruto. A major error on her part—especially when she feared Sasuke was going to snap her neck clear off her vertebrate._

_As he verbally attested, his mother seemed to be the only adult to fathom the burnishment of the debacle. After their eyes connected, Fugaku did as well. Trembling with fearful understanding, Fugaku's distain converted to a cloaked mound of hurt._

"_What's going on here?" A passing nurse wandered in with a copious amount of concern. She overlooked the two adults and focused on the youngest Uchiha as he emulated a human blanket holding his baby. "Is there a problem?"_

"_Can you please have them leave?" Sasuke quickly countered as Mikoto barely had time to swing around to the newly arrived nurse._

"_This is my daughter and I don't want them to see her. Tell them to get out."_

_The petite woman that was faced with tough decisions the entire duration of her shift quickly sported the decision on the soft lines of her face. Eyeballing the older adults, she reported the legality of the situation. "He's legally next of kin since he's the father of the baby. He has direct authority over his child, along with the mother. I'm sorry." She really wasn't. "But I'm going to have to ask you to leave."_

…

_Glancing down at the petite figure of his son indolently, Minato grasped the handles of the mechanical hospital bed. The rhythmic chirps of the monitors harmonized in the room as the oldest Namikaze fixed his stare on Naruto with a lock._

_He almost died._

_It showed on usually vibrant face that looked faded into pale exhaustion though he was peacefully resting._

_He looked like the real metaphor 'hospital death.'_

_Sighing, at the mass of the emotions baring down his shoulder, he felt Naruto shuffle in the bed below his chin._

_The unfocused, sweet blue eyes that Minato had known for fifteen years, opened._

_Minato felt his lips twitch with worry._

_It was unbridled torture as Minato watched Naruto pull off his oxygen mask and smile like they were reunited after a long warring in no man's land. "Daddy, you're here."_

_The exponential beating of his heart sped up to a million miles an hour as he heard those damaging words._

_Words that seared the soul._

_Because initially he didn't want to step a foot in here to see his own son._

"_Have you seen her yet?" Naruto painkiller slurred words asked._

_Minato's lack of eye contact whispered a telling yes._

"_She's beautiful isn't she?" Naruto's smile spread further across his face as he placed the mask against the left side of his jaw. Scrabbling his head into the pillow, he didn't really press his father. His speechlessness must be delaying him from proper the words to speak. Must have been._

"_Can I… Can I keep her?" Naruto optimistically asked as he received the circulating oxygen as a response._

"_Daddy, I asked you a question. Can I keep her?" Naruto reiterated with more forcefulness than before._

_He sat up, pulling at the tubes and cords attached to the pumping machines. Water spewed from his tear ducts, but not quite leaving his eyes. His face reddened with terror as he noticed that Minato wouldn't even fucking look at him._

_Minato grunted, opposed with the forces of morality and empathy combating for supremacy. Like an old dollar bill, he was torn between what Naruto and Kushina wanted and what he wanted. Essentially cornered, he and his inner confliction left the room ignoring the wounded Naruto cry after him, anger coating his screams._

_He wanted to run out of the bed and catch up his father. He just wanted to shake him and make him understand._

_This was HIS baby._

_She grew inside him for nine, long months._

_It was cruel and unusual punishment to just send her away for something that wasn't her fault._

_It was harebrained mentality to continue on with life and just pretend that she never existed._

_They were teaching him that he never had to deal with life's consequences because every mishap would just be swept under the rug._

_Did this really threaten their lifestyle?_

"_Hey, I'm fucking talking to you!" The levees of rage shut tight as Naruto became a pleading mess. "Please…" he felt twin tears spill down his cheeks as he idly watched his father chicken out of answering the butchering question like a helpless bystander gazing upon a murder._

…

_In the break of the afternoon, Minato discovered his head was splitting in two, lungs aching, feeling like he needed to make major amends._

_With everyone._

_He saw her and then everything he thought he was doing was bludgeoned to death and then blessed into a stoned grave, never to arise again._

_All his thoughts of forcing Naruto into the adoption process. Gone. All thoughts of eventually forcing Naruto to separate from Sasuke. Gone. All thoughts of continuing this tumultuous affair with Fugaku… leaving._

_When he rested his eyes on Serenity, everything in his heart rearranged—broke—and declared itself emotionally dead. Everything he wanted in this life seemed to be so trivial, so unimportant to what truly mattered now. This little girl needed a stable home, a support system that included both families, and blitzing ammunition of love that she couldn't avoid even if she tried._

_All the deception and globs of disgusting greed and selfishness that he knew he had been exacting long before Naruto was ever with child. It was all a means to an end—Fugaku._

_Shards of repentance plagued him as he walked further into the storage room stacked with various medical tools such as various lengths and widths of scalpels and ranging clamps. Looking at the rarity of sterilized metal, he thought that maybe he could mend everything, maybe he could change. With enough begging for Naruto's forgiveness and promise of a new tomorrow, he could become the man he once was instead of an imitation._

_Serenity was worth it._

_Her slick black hair and beautiful blue eyes rightfully deserved the best the world had to offer._

_And it was his responsibility to provide that as much as Naruto was._

"_Hey, I've been looking for you everywhere," the hedonistic demon, abbreviated as Fugaku Uchiha entered, bombarding Minato's revolutionary encounter with himself._

"_Hey," A startled Minato felt himself being drawn in like a kitten being bated with a yarn ball as comforting arms traveled around the circumference of his waist, overpowering him like tractor trailer. Feeling himself being discharged from the wealth personal reform into a quicksand of temptation, he hugged Fugaku back, all the while cursing in his mind._

"_How did you find me?"_When I'm making the biggest decision of my life?

_Fugaku smirked. "They say you can always hear the other half of your heart calling."_

_On the outside, Minato's slightly invulnerable azure eyes appeared unimpressed but on the inside, he was crying like a rain cloud._

"_I-I" The blond stuttered like a bumbling fool as the maple haired man leaned in to catch a whiff of what his secret lover was talking about._

"_You what?"_

"_I saw her."_

_Fugaku tried to withhold the adamant shock as he looked at the true love of his life in compact dim storage room, contemplating what this meant._

_He didn't explain that he had tried to visit her but his son had prevented him seeing an inch of her. It would just prove how far they pushed their children, beyond the divide of hate. It was an embarrassing notion to consider._

"_Her name's Serenity… and she's an example of the perfect princess." Minato swallowed then cleared his throat as if a boulder had gotten lodged in his esophagus. "Touching… Truly touching. You know, only Naruto could make something so beautiful?" He roughly exhaled, continuing. "She's really something to be proud of and I really could see that little girl becoming a part of_our life._" Minato knew he initially sounded like he was talking in circles but he thought he resolutely reached his most important point._

_Fugaku flinched with his fists inside the depths of his pockets tightening. "So you want Naruto to keep her?" he sounded like he despised the idea with a passion._

"_I don't think Naruto should give her up for adoption, he almost—"_

"_Do you hear what you're saying?" Fugaku urgently grabbed Minato's shoulder as he carefully annunciated every syllable. His menacingly dark eyes hammered into Minato's enlightened blue eyes._

"_Almost died, Fugaku." Minato asserted, his nostrils flaring._

"_Minato. If you let them keep that baby, do you know what it will mean for our families?"_

"_I don't really care what it means."_

"_So you don't really care what happens to the life that you built for yourself? The life we built for ourselves?"_

_Minato's blond brows knitted behind his rugged fringe._

"_I remember when we were younger, how much you said you wanted to be the protector of the town, no matter how hard you had to work, no matter how tough the road was."_

_Fugaku's hand outstretched to the warm cheeks of the confused man. "You never made even made a plan B because you were so adamant about becoming mayor. I distinctly remember the desire in your gorgeous eyes when you talked about it like it was a day away." Fugaku reminisced in a vague reverie of their childhood memories, the meditation daubing Minato like a fire hose._

_Minato's stinging eyes reflected direct hatred as a daunting silence stretched between them._

"…_Are you really willing to sacrifice everything for a child that our sons that no business creating?"_

"_I-"_

"_If the media find out Sasuke and Naruto are caring for a newborn child, they'll devour us."_

_Minato looked down, trying to escape the truth. "We'll be done and so will Sasuke and Naruto's life. They'll tear them to shreds, Minato. They won't be able to handle it."_

"_We can hire a crisis team. It's—"_

"_That'll hardly make a dent in our efforts," Fugaku put both hands on his face. "I don't want to see you fall from grace… again. Is that so wrong?"_

_He leaned forward, tilting Minato's chin up slightly, brutally covering the pink lips with his own. As their lips crashed together, Minato tried to shove Fugaku away but failed as lost feelings resurfaced chaining him in place as Fugaku's tongue swiped across his supple bottom lip. Allowing the contact, Minato felt their tongues battle for dominance temporarily before he conceded, allowing Fugaku to control the quick session. Massaging his lips against the elder Uchiha, he felt the immense yearning build in his soul leave his body without a note of departure. Watching himself fall back into the penitentiary of old habits, he knew that he had forgotten the difference between right and wrong._

'_It'll be the end of us.'_

…

"_So you saw her? What does she look like? What did she do? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" An overjoyed Naruto demanded, rattling Sasuke's forearm like a magnitude nine earthquake, the biggest grin sprawled onto his beautifully fatigued face._

_Sasuke gave a somnolent smile as he digested Naruto's happy state. Never in his life had he seen Naruto so enthusiastic about anything before. Not to mention, rash._

_Sasuke didn't want to put a damper on the mood by telling Naruto that he hostilely shooed his parents from visiting their daughter. He just buried the damage from their hypocrisy underneath his skin as Naruto's happy parade marched on._

"_Sasuke," Naruto whined, his parched blue eyes filled with unsaturated excitement._

"_Yeah?" Sasuke answered, leaving the short swim with his thoughts._

"_What happened? I wanna know."_

_Sasuke thought Naruto was going to break the foundation of the automatic bed with his energetic bouncing._

"_Well she was asleep when I got there…"_

"_Uh-huh, uh-huh." Naruto nodded attentively._

_Sasuke relived sharing the beautiful bonding with their daughter, emblazoning the memory in his mind. The lemon sanitizing stench tickled his nose as he continued on with the story. "It was so peaceful… So pure… For a second, I thought it was an angel napping… Until I looked at her nametag confirming that it was her."_

_Naruto was enraptured, goofy smile glued in place as he leaned over the edge of his hospital bed. "Mhmm."_

"_When I picked her up, she opened her eyes for the first time. And…and…" Sasuke stammered, tripping over the next few words._

"_And what?" Naruto anxiously threw himself up; hanging on Sasuke's every word like a hiker clung to the edge of the cliff._

_Smirking, Sasuke touched the swell of Naruto's plump cheeks, his eyes faithfully following the trace of his fingers. Naruto's breath hitched as he moved into the loving gesture, appreciating the delicateness Sasuke demonstrated. "Her eyes look just like yours."_

"_They-they look just like mine?" Naruto weakly pointed to himself, partially in disbelief, partially in surprise._

"_Like a carbon copy," Sasuke reassured._

_Overcome with a whirlwind of emotions, Naruto trembled as sucked up his bottom lip and chewed on it._

"_Just like I said she would," Sasuke openly boasted, smirk growing._

"_Nyah," Naruto stuck his tongue out, playfully annoyed. Pulling the loose muscle back into his mouth, he grabbed after Sasuke again. "What else happened after she woke up?"_

"_I called her and then… she smiled." Sasuke spoke so fondly that he couldn't interrupt the smile erupting on his face._

"_She smiled? Really Sasuke?" Naruto squawked, writhing with eagerness. "She can smile?"_

"_Yeah, she's so… beautiful," Sasuke sighed out like it was just a long, drawn out fantasy._

_Naruto loved to hear of Sasuke's rapture—see it on his face._

_It meant that he loved their child as much as he did. It meant that he would never abandon them…_

_It made Naruto smile just thinking about it._

"_It makes me so proud," Sasuke came to his feet, gently brushing Naruto's bangs aside embracing Naruto's jaw like a fine piece of china. "So excited," Sasuke kissed the tip of his nose. "And so much more in love." A final stray kiss then landed on Naruto's lips._

"_I…love you." Naruto giggled, smearing wetness on Sasuke's cheeks like peanut butter._

_Setting his forehead against Naruto's, Sasuke begged the question. "Hey, why are you crying?"_

"_Cause…" Naruto sniffled. "For the first time in a long time, I'm actually… happy."_

…

_Not missing a beat, Fugaku and Minato moseyed on, rattling Sasuke and Naruto into separation. Naruto tensed. These were the last people they wanted to see. On the edge of disturbance, he rested against the sets of pillows, trying to remain composed._

_Sasuke looked at Naruto's inferior, fearful glances at the two men and realized there was something that he wasn't being told._

_Obviously, it was important because Naruto seemed like he was going to implode from the capsizing pressure._

_Sasuke captured Naruto's gaze and held it for a moment. Unbeknownst to him, he dripped a guilt conscious that made Sasuke worry like a squirrel without an acorn on a winter morning. He didn't even have a window of time to ask Naruto anything as the two worthless women marched in close behind them._

"_Naruto," Fugaku began, standing by Minato that suggested that they were more than what they claimed to be. "We've decided the fate of Serenity."_

"_That's not even your decision to make," Naruto shot back, his voice wavering with an unidentifiable emotion._

"_Please, don't speak. Just listen." Minato said to Naruto with a glance so fierce it would slice through any diamond with grace. The younger blond swished uncomfortably under the sea green knitted covers, his hand finding Sasuke's. He had a feeling he was going to need something to hold on to._

"_No, you listen—we're not puppets. You just can't control us whenever an opportunity of convenience strikes," Sasuke seethed like a serpent that hadn't administered enough poison to his critically injured victims. Though a corrosive hole of nervousness burned him at the steak, he tried to prevent it from leaking to the outside._

_Carnivores like Fugaku could smell fear like fresh, dripping blood._

_Standing tall, Sasuke didn't want to give Fugaku any excuse to pounce like the lunatic he was._

"_You may not be puppets but you are our flesh and blood. Naturally, we know what's best for you."_

"_We would never do anything to intentionally harm you," Minato added._

_Naruto looked appalled as he almost choked on his spit. Was he fucking kidding?_

"_We want you to live a full life,__**free**__of obstacles. You're still so both young. You have many years to thrive and mature into intelligent, prosperous adults. With that said, we insist you place that child up for adoption," Fugaku's voice lowered as his eyes darkened with an imperious nature. Not insisting but necessitating._

"_And like I said before, I'm not giving her up," Sasuke said, his veins burning like a hot, electric-lit wires._

"_It's not a choice—fool. You will do as you're told, not as you desire," Fugaku countered._

"_Wait, we don't have to give her up for adoption. I'll take care of her. I'll work and I'll pay for everything she needs. I'll stay home with her. I'll raise her—by myself. I won't bother anybody—just please, please let me keep her," Naruto pleaded, his voice cracking like a thirsting desert ground, tears already free flowing like an eager summer stream._

"_That's not an option," Fugaku bared down like a hammer, not only smashing ideas but crushing hopes and dreams._

_Cringing, he couldn't help but wish Naruto wouldn't place such burdensome responsibilities on his shoulders alone. Such selflessness in his presence was most unusual and highly welcome._

_If he were in their shoes, he would have been embracing this opportunity as a gift, as a blessing. But they were tied together at the soul—a force to be reckoned with like fire or wind. Something immortal that Fugaku secretly wished to destroy at the foundation._

_If he didn't get to be happy—neither would they._

"_Why not? I'm willing to raise her by myself while Sasuke's life continues interrupted." A dull ache blossomed from his lower body, specifically the fresh cesarean scar that went unnoticed until now, reminding him that this might be the only proof he had Serenity._

"_That's wonderful but that's not my concern. I can't run the risk of anyone finding out."_

_Minato lowered his head, knowing what he really didn't want them to uncover._

"_What?" Naruto asked, confusion scarring his face like a hunting blade._

"_If you give her up—the records of her birth will be legally sealed. It will almost be like she was never born."_

_Kushina thrust her face into her left hand, praying that she could be awoken when this nightmare dissolved and everything reverted back to their former state of peacefulness. Times when she didn't see her beautiful child sob over a wound that would never heal._

_You never get over losing a child._

"_But she's my daughter… And I love her. I don't want to g-give her up. She needs me… She needs Sasuke," Naruto murmured, his red cheeks were puffy, tears fleeting from his sapphire eyes like meteor showers, raining down on the accepting Earth._

_Sobbing, Naruto tried to swallow a pit of air with the most discreetness as he felt five pairs of eyes fixated on him like he was some strange circus attraction. Trembling, his lungs thrashing, his heart beat resounding in his ears, the ineffectiveness of the morphine and his newly forming headache mixed seamlessly. "They'll never love her the way we will… It won't be the same. I-It'll never be the same."_

"_I don't care what you say. I'm not giving Serenity up." Sasuke glared, his arrogantly defiant voice contrasting Naruto's soft convincing tone so drastically that the brashness caused something to snap in Fugaku. Something deep._

"_You either concede and place her up for adoption, or I'll pay any goddamn judge I need to to get your rights revoked and give that twerp up myself!" Naruto flinched away from the yelling man as he quietly sniffled, a light breath squeezing out of him in surprise. He was so unyielding—so inflamed that the devil's minions at the gates of hell would fear his apocalyptic rage._

_It seemed like he was more enraged about something beyond them but everything was too sudden and too explosive to be certain._

_Did he really mean that?_

_Was he really planning on forcefully taking their daughter away if they didn't do it themselves?_

"_Shall you decide to take that route, and not sign the non-disclosure papers, not only will get rid of her myself, I'll separate you both," Fugaku warned, nabbing the breath right from their young body's as their eyes bulged out of their heads at the doubtfully idle threat. Naruto's hand shook harder than ever, his heart melting like inner core of the earth—what did he say? He was going… to do what? To them?_

_As he received the result he desired, his anger subsided like low tide. "I'll send you to a beautiful boarding school in Japan. While, I'm__**positive**__Minato will take pleasure you in sending you to a boarding school in Germany. Should that happen, there'll be no contact between you and Sasuke, whatsoever."_

_Like low tide, the displacement of shock and underlying sensation of loss crashed in like a wrecking ball._

_Sasuke and Naruto were beyond speechless. It was almost like the words the once wanted to say were pried from their mouth with an icepick, leaving a vacancy that was unalterable. Naruto remained in place, the grip loosening on Sasuke's hand—exhibiting his loss of faith. Tears spilled over like flooded river as his cerulean eyes stared at Minato with a look of neglect—a gaping helplessness._

"_It'll almost be like you two never met," Fugaku mentioned, feeling Minato wither at his side like a wilting flower. He knew this isn't what the Namikaze wanted but it was what was best for him._

_Minato felt the blistering glimpse from his wife—not daring to even flinch in her direction._

_With an aura like that, murder didn't seem out of the question…_

_She wasn't in sync with their demands but she knew there was nothing she could do to prevent this from occurring._

_It was over between them—he knew it._

_Naruto felt the pain double as his skin turned into thin sheets of ice._

_This was the most harmful thing anyone had ever done to him… And he knew it was over. Either way they lost. Not only Serenity—but each other._

_He was so fucking stupid… To think that having the baby would change something—maybe awaken something earnest and moral in them was naïve… He was too trusting—too trusting that they had a moral fiber in their entire body. He should've listened to Sasuke when he said nothing would change his father's mind. He should've listened to that little voice that told him to walk into the Planned Parenthood office and schedule the abortion. He should've. He should've. He should've. He should've. He should've. He should've. He should've._

_But he didn't._

_Because he was so__**fucking**__stupid._

_He always wanted to see the best in people, always looking for a way to forgive people for their mistakes, regardless of how big or small they were._

_And this time, his immature stupidity cost him more than anything he ever had._

_Anything that he had ever gained._

_And now as he couldn't tell if he was breathing or not—he figured, he didn't deserve Sasuke. He didn't deserve anything. He deserved to be alone…_

_Everyone that got too close always got hurt._

_Namely Sasuke._

"_Now you have no objections?"_

_Sasuke didn't answer, not wanting to rattle the boat any more than he already had. His face was drawn, cloaked surprise and evident hurt molded in his gorgeous eyes._

_Sasuke could feel Naruto generating waves of self-blame, rolling off like a powerful current._

_Mikoto watched in terror as she witnessed something die inside of Naruto—a horrific death of innocence. Her son seemed to be amassing a chronic numbness that corroded his youth, forcing him to grow up ahead of his time. Her grey eyes released tears as she turned away, finding a hidden strength to leave the room first._

"_Excellent. Case closed."_

…

_Sasuke had heard of the boarding schools in Germany and nothing good had run through the rumor telephone line. Depending on where Naruto enrolled, it could be a brutal experience. If it was a repressed religious society, there was a chance the older boys could use Naruto to relieve their experimental urges. Hazing, harassment, stereotypes, and potentially rape. Anything could happen to Naruto while he was out of his sight, out of his reach where he couldn't protect him. He would pretend to be tough, but after surrendering his daughter he would be in no position to defend himself. He would be a walking target for individuals looking for someone to take advantage of. Nothing disgusted him more than the thought of someone corrupting Naruto in that way—hurting him just because._

_His lover could possibly become pregnant… With another man's child…_

_In the hospital cafeteria, Sasuke clutched the cup of coffee much too tightly as he interpreted everything said hours before nightfall._

_Every hope and dream they had about a being a mother, a father—a family, was officially dead._

_And Sasuke didn't know how long spent in the relatively empty mess hall wondering where to go from here._

…

_Sasuke returned to the nursery, lingering in the door way, merely inhaling the mentally deteriorating scene of Naruto in a wheelchair, weakly holding a sleeping Serenity in his lap. Wrapped in a pink blanket, Naruto's fingers brushed the edge of her jaw with a motherly gentleness that only he could give. Her tiny hand was loosely wrapped around his right index finger as she deeply slept in her mother's arms. When he stepped out, she was smiling and actively playing with Naruto's fingers. Naruto must have rocked her back to sleep without even realizing it._

_Observing that Naruto barely had enough energy to hold her up because he was in enormous amount of pain, Sasuke knew that he was so flabbergasted but depressed by her beauty he must have wanted to extend the visit for as long as he could bare the pain. Devastated, Sasuke felt his heart shatter when Naruto raised his forearm, bringing her forehead to his lips. Nuzzling into her impossibly smooth skin and satiny, flaxen black hair—his love was so evident, it hurt. It hurt Sasuke. It hurt Sasuke because it hurt Naruto._

"_Naruto, don't you think you should get some rest?" Sasuke asked, walking into the room carefully. It wouldn't be long until the nurse would come to administer a shot of morphine so he could sleep through the night._

"_Can I hold her just a little bit longer?" Naruto pleaded softly, looking at Sasuke with those impressionably influential blue irises that were laminated with fresh tears, trying to remind Sasuke this was one of the few times he would get to hold her. "Please?"_

_Sasuke's shoulders mollified as he joined them, knowing their child was with them on borrowed time._

…

**April 16**

_Naruto had been under two day observation to ensure that his complications didn't hinder his recuperation. When he and Serenity had been cleared, Sasuke had taken them both home in a somber silence. With their leave, the hospital had been fully reopened to the public as the private security group dispersed, with full pay._

_Even though the house seemed unwelcoming—cold and unfeeling, Shizune greeted Naruto with a congratulations banner, a hug, and an armory of kisses. She prepared a full play room and crib for the new baby in which she would a total of two nights. She told Naruto how she attempted to visit but was refused by hospital staff and security because they weren't related nor did she have certified clearance to visit him._

_Naruto just smiled and nodded, not blaming her for not being present._

_Thereafter, the woman dove into a tangent about how cute their baby was—how much she would become a by-product of Naruto charisma and Sasuke's love, a total prodigy. Unresponsive to the compliments, she perceived something was wrong, very wrong. Their eyes pooled with knowing pain on Naruto's bed as Sasuke spoke for the both of them when he told Shizune what happened the day their baby was born._

_Feeling like she had been stabbed in her stomach, Shizune begged to know if there was anything she could do for them._

_In unison, they both answered no._

…

**April 17**

_The following day, Naruto tried tending to Serenity but failed. His C-section scar was so deep, he had 20 some-odd stitches knitted into his body. The pain so was impalpable, the drugs the doctor prescribed operated like horse tranquilizers. When she cried, Sasuke leapt into action even though Naruto tried to care for her instead. He urged Naruto to eat, take his blood thinners, his painkillers and rest—he would take care of her._

'_I got her, babe," Sasuke would say._

_He changed her diaper and dressed her in the purple onesie he had bought approximately seven months ago. It was the first stitch of baby clothes he had ever purchased. It was also the ploy he had used to divert Naruto's attention away from the engagement ring he had been hiding since the beginning of the week. It was a memento Sasuke used as motivation during the course of Naruto's difficult pregnancy to remind himself that he was a day closer to meeting his beautiful little girl._

_Now that he saw it fit perfectly on the six pound, five ounce baby, he tried to pull his heart from the oceans of impending loss as he held her to her feet. Born with a full head of dark hair, a pair of killer blue eyes, and her mother's tenacious personality, he feared for who would adopt their child. A drug dealer? An alcoholic? A child molester?_

_There was no indication of who was seeking a child for adoption these days. It made Sasuke sore knowing that he had no way of selecting the family. No way of seeing her after they signed her away._

_Standing her on her feet, she gave one of her characteristic smiles to her father. Picking her up from the changing table, he cracked a small smile of his own as he kissed her on her temple, inciting a soaring giggle from her._

_Though she looked exactly like him—she was her mother's child._

_Insightful and fluorescent like every ultraviolet ray of the sun._

_Naruto in a nutshell._

_His love, the mother of his child, his only confidant._

_Dredging through the baby bag Shizune prepared, Sasuke pulled out a stuffed giraffe and went to Naruto's room. The blond boy was barely responsive to their arrival because he was doped up on the strong acetaminophens. Hazily, he lifted his head as Sasuke laid Serenity on her side next to her mother. "Hey, Serenity…" Naruto feebly cooed, kissing her on her forehead. As she made unintelligible noises, she fisted Naruto's brilliant yellow spikes, curious about her mom's hair. Laughing, Naruto tickled her tummy through the fabric, basking in the jovial giggles that followed._

"_My baby girl." Naruto smiled a sad smile, as he reached out the arm that felt like a thousand tons and touched Sasuke. Understanding the nonverbal gesture, Sasuke joined Naruto on the bed, patting his leg tenderly._

"_You okay?"_

_Naruto nodded, his sadness exceeding tears as he pulled his daughter close as possible—reveling in the warmth he was soon to lose._

…

_Their parents spoke to them shortly ordering them to return home shortly after the process was complete. No phone calls to outside entities, no leaving city limits, or revealing the purpose of the adoption to the workers because most of the paper work had already been settled. Barely listening, they just collected all they needed and drove to the adoption agency with an uncoordinated surrealism to the event. As they sat in the parking lot, Sasuke's hands clenched on the steering, peering out into the humbly ginger skyline of the setting sun, realizing they were close to giving away everything they worked so hard for._

_Everything that was dear to them…_

_Fighting against the clock of the closing time of the agency, Sasuke took his daughter out of the car, wrapped in a steep blue blanket like a prized gem._

_Feeling like a tin of partially made jello, Naruto climbed out of the Audi, fatigue battling him for just a moment of shut eye. A moment that he hadn't got since he had gotten the order from asshole #1, 2, 3, and 4. He was stuck with awkward positions that wouldn't reopen his healing C-section scar, a drag of drowsiness, and limited choice of foods with a decreased appetite._

_Carrying a concealed item in his hand, he walked beside Sasuke into the building that would caulk the opening of their fate._

"_Let's go."_

_The homey interior structure of the agency boosted the mercury of confidence Naruto had for his sleeping child. The front room's aliment of sky blue sofas blended into the plaster cream walls as the cordial stack of magazines on the round center table added a comfortable atmosphere more than a stuffy, professional one. At least the process would be transitional for her—painless. Too bad he couldn't say the same thing for them._

_A young blonde woman from the back room barreled toward them, asking them how she could help._

"_Hi, um, we'd like to give our baby up for adoption." The words burned his tongue as he said them, though his mouth was forged into a polite smile._

_Sasuke scanned Serenity's pale face stir as she looked up at him. Her slight alarm was comforted as she felt safe, her eyes locked with her dad._

"_Um, sure," She smiled. "If it's okay… I'll take her." The women held out her arms expectantly._

_Naruto felt a lump pile in his throat as he saw Sasuke resist her suggestion. Mistrusting grey eyes panned her out before meeting Naruto's compromising glances. Against his will and against his better judgment, Sasuke passed Serenity to the woman, feeling like chest was being cramped by a pair of pliers._

_Serenity made a sound of disapproval as the woman juggled the thick blanket around her small body. Looking into the sheet, she felt like she was slapped by the adorableness of their newborn daughter, her mind not computing the possible reason this young couple would place this baby up for adoption._

_Naruto stepped closer, shadowing over his baby, his daughter, the light of his life, Serenity._

"_Hey, Baby. You know—you know, Mommy loves you very much… And Mommy would never choose to give you up…" Naruto sobbed, rubbing her small wrist, kissing her nose, stopping himself before he said something he couldn't take back. He whispered against the bridge of her nose, "I'm s-sorry." Naruto felt the tears bristle his eyes as he felt his body pike at the negative adrenaline bubbling inside him like boiling water. Calming himself, he moved aside, giving Sasuke a chance_to say goodbye.

_Serenity's face skewed as Naruto stepped back, cries of fear ringing out as she extended her hand, yearning for a connection with her mom._

"_Shhh," Sasuke soothed, wiping the tears from her delicate skin, leaning to kiss her on her forehead. She coughed a bit, but ceased crying._

"_Daddy's little girl… I regret that I won't have the honor of being your father…" Sasuke paused, a sad curl to the edge of his lips, causing tears to stream down Naruto's face. The blond batted away the tears, almost denying that this was clipping his wings in mid-flight._

"_I hope someday you can find it in your heart to forgive me, though I don't deserve it." Sasuke kissed her for the final time on her cheek, trying to smile for his daughter, so she wouldn't be scared. "I love you, little one…"_

_The women seemed overcome with emotion as she looked at the couple with watery eyes. "Um, I'll take her to Lydia, the caretaker."_

"_Wait," Naruto called to her back. "Can you give this to her? I, um, want her to have it." Naruto held out a pint sized little plush-toy fox with a black button nose._

_Sasuke looked at it with a deep air of sadness as he remembered the toy from their childhood._

"_It used to be my favorite toy to play with when I was younger…I called it Kyuubi." Naruto looked gently held it in his hands, making it obvious it was something special to him. "Please make sure she gets it," Naruto asked in quiet voice as she walked back to retrieve the toy._

"_Of course." She smiled taking Serenity away._

_And that was the last time they ever saw her._

…

_The last of the afternoon's sunrays filtered through the blinds casting a holier-than-thou appearance on 'Ms. Lily's' the desk as they sat on the table._

"_What kind of adoption are you seeking?" She asked, pressing her hands over blue stripped shirt blue button down from behind the desk. She took the time to fill out their names on the form, wondering what their back story was. These two boys were related to the mayor and the police chief, right?_

_As his eyes were blinded in the sun, Naruto felt his soul sizzle in the candid illumination, like this was some type of repentance for the sins he committed. Which was funny because he didn't feel any holier._

"_A closed adoption…"_

_She shuffled through some papers. "When you sign up—"_

"_Can we please just have the papers?" Naruto asked, not really coveting for a conversation about adoption. He and Sasuke had done their research on adoption and adoption options months earlier and the last thing they needed was an in-depth run through of what they were already aware of._

"_Um, certainly. How old are you two?" She drew up the paper work out of an organized folder, grabbing for two pens._

"_15," Naruto answered._

"_15," Sasuke muttered, his hand brushing Naruto's pulse and covering his hand. Though Naruto was faced straight ahead, he answered Sasuke's beckoning need for mild comfort as he squeezed the living daylights out of the spaces between Sasuke's fingers._

_Sniffling, Naruto's hand darted for the pen. He signed his name at the bottom of the two papers that designated him to stay 100,000 feet away from Serenity at all times—and another that made this legal action irrevocable ten days' time._

_Looking at his signature, he felt the need to change his name—leave, run, and hide in a place where he wasn't himself._

_Within seconds, Sasuke did the same._

"_Can she keep her name? Please? Naruto asked, as she took the papers. "I don't think it'd be right to change her name. It fits… She's Serenity."_

_Ms. Lily nodded. "I'll request it."_

_Knowing there was nothing left to be done—Naruto stood with a mute Sasuke. "Can you make sure she goes to a good home with someone that'll take care of her?" Naruto asked, his florid cheeks floodlit with the sun's auburn gleams, his eyes begging for reassurance and maybe some sign that he was doing __something__ right._

_She smiled, knowing these two were pushed into this by someone that didn't understand their overwhelming love. "I'll make sure it's the best."_

_Naruto moved his hair out of his sparkling blue eyes, nodding in gratitude. "T-thank you," he said feeling everything less than thankful._

…

_As pitch darkness climbed upon them, the skies opened with tear droplets, saturating them as they sought cover under the verandah of the pool house they shared. Feeling the buckets of water drenching his clothes, Naruto reached into his white Aero hoodie for the keys, lips quivering. The floodgates ruptured as the scale of the situation detonated on impact. A canal worth of tears weathered his balance as he crumbled into the arms that swallowed him whole. Sobbing, his hands clung to the back of Sasuke's shirt, linking him to life so he didn't lose his identity trying to articulate something that made sense—trying to articulate something into making sense._

"_Sasuke, s-shee's g-g-gone. S-she's gone. O-our daughter she's gone and we're never—g-going to s-see her again." Naruto sobbed, just short of wailing out in the wet, silent neighborhood, extirpating any hope that he would be normal again._

_Because a piece of them died tonight that could never be resurrected._

"_Ohmmyyg-god."_

_The keys clanked on the marble at their feet as Sasuke nuzzled into the soaked blond hair, tears pricking his eyes. Naruto shook like a leaf as the horror of his cries permanently etched into Sasuke's recollection as testament —_

_angel's do cry._

…

_|||N|K|Y|||_


	10. The Silver Lining

**I apologize. My hard drive broke and I had to rewrite this from scratch. Thanks for all the love, it's appreciated. Btw, ignore the last review I didn't write it -_-**

CH1**0**: The Silver Lining

_Fugaku's phone clapped closed. _

"_The transaction is complete," He rhetorically notified, wandering back to the living area's morbidly low lights and symphonies of silence. _

_Minato confusedly precipitated the statement with distaste. "You are aware this isn't some business transaction. This was a child. Another human bei—"_

_Fugaku's chin dipped as he disrespectfully raised his hand in dismissal. "You're the last person with the authority to lecture me. You're just as much a part of this as I am."_

_The elder Uchiha's lethal glare injected a booster shot of poisonous irresponsibility into the apologetic male. The sting of defensiveness sent Minato's gaze packing. He admitted—the adoption of Serenity was communal property between the four of them. They were all co-conspirators involved in the crime of stealing the most precious accomplishment a person could achieve—a beautiful child. A little princess. Robbed from them, like a thief in the night._

_**Gone/**_

"_Everyone bears responsibility, not only me."_

_Minato's throat constricted, bounded by remorse and indignity. "I know that," He stingily retorted through clenched teeth. Avoiding the cuffs of association, Minato repeatedly reminded himself that he wasn't nearly as ruthless as his brash lover. Well into the zero hour, he tried to convince Fugaku to do the "right" thing but he rescinded the from every proposed reversal. In the end, everything happened as expected. _

_**Forever/**_

_It must have been like handing over your beating heart. Parting with a new, innocent love that could not be returned. _

_The agony the two boys must have been experiencing—was unimaginable._

_Minato felt his sore eyes look up as Fugaku migrated across the room to the small bar apparatus. "The disclosure papers have been signed and nothing will be leaked to the media," Fugaku arrogantly added as Minato dug his nails in the back of his hands. How did he fall in love with someone so narcissist? So careless? So tarnished?_

"_How did you ensure that, __**Fugaku**__?"_

"_It's amazing how threats work. Remind them how tragic it would be if their small adoption agency was be erased from business, leaving all those untainted souls displaced and suddenly they're sworn to secrecy." _

_Minato's champagne strands glistened in the concentration of the bleak lamp lights as he tilted his nose upward at the relaxed figure pouring twin glasses of Italian wine aged from 1857. Minato's thunderstruck eyes followed the amethyst ripple encircling the glass, feeling his lips numb. Spoilt with notoriety and only regarding his life requirements, Minato knew there was nothing left to say. Fugaku would propitiate his ego and maintain his lifestyle under any circumstances. He could never alter his train of thought under any determination—even when he begged him not to marry Mikoto. Begged him to give him time. But, as usual, his stay was denied. _

_As Minato rotated his unbearably cramped neck, he grasped the vertebrate carefully, connecting with those eyes that were as bottomless as a coal mine, accepting the bitter beverage. _

"_Is it worth it?... Is this worth it?" Minato asked, the wall shadows appearing like grotesque monsters dancing to the tune of their misplaced jealousy. _

"_Of course." Fugaku sipped the wine, brushing aside his dark hair, branding his certain gape into the dubitable eyes of the beautiful creation. The face he knew morphed into inalienable melancholy at the anguished reference in relation to the incident. _

"_You're worth it. Remember our—" Minato furiously shook his head, rolling the glass in his palms incessantly. _

"_Please don't talk about her," Minato pleaded, his eye sockets stinging like he was being pricked by cactus spikes. His lungs hollowed like a vacant cave as he spitefully shut his eyes, balancing his waves of breath. The dissymmetry of Charka cut him down to a mass of rehashed memories, hurt slicing through his reinvention and into the inner turmoil that was very much alive. _

_Fugaku abided by his lover's wishes and urged the pause in midsentence. Lowering the glass, his ears swallowed the sad sigh's echo as a whispered question marched across the room. "What if Naruto's life is leaked to the media, anyhow? What would you do then?" _

"_What will I do?" The Uchiha repeated as if he needed to hear it from the belly of his throat to be able to excogitate a decent response. "If I find them negligent for revealing their predicament to the press, I'll be a man of my word. I'll send Sasuke to Japan to complete his studies. And I recommend you send Naruto to Germany to complete his. If I evaluate the damage as uncontainable, I'll send him away. If I suspect him of leaking the information, I'll send him away. They won't rationally consider exposing the family if they wish to stay in their flimsy relationship."_

_Repulsed by the thought of Naruto's prescience, Minato swallowed a lump of anxiety. _

_The fissure was disrupted—burned at the flow of realization and surprise—they finally got what they wanted. But it still like tasted grapefruit—bittersweet. "You're worth it," Fugaku repeated directly into his grappling blue eyes familiar from years ago and still haunting him from a previous lifetime. His idyllic myriad of inexorable love and remarkable devotion hastened the mood as Minato felt the sensation in droves, knowing that Fugaku meant it—with every fiber of his being._

"_It's all for you…" _

_Fugaku took a sip as Minato idly observed. _

"_You know that, don't you?"_

_Minato regretfully nodded. _

"_And I don't want you to suffer because… I love you." Belief transpiring through the shell of his heart, Minato quietly gasped in a package of air. _

_His love. It was dark. It was twisted. It was destructive. It was selfish._

_But it was true._

_And that was what scared Minato the most._

…

_After contending with Naruto's removal from the humid rain to the master bedroom, Sasuke tried to conquer the task of getting Naruto out of his drenched clothes. If he stayed in them any longer he risked falling ill or contracting an infection because of his cesarean scar. Not wanting either of the two, Sasuke tried to complete the mission Naruto wasn't allowing in his current state. Quivering and swaying, skin pasty form the cooled water's moisture, tears indiscernible from the splash of rain on his face, Naruto clasped his shirt arms and pulled him in, his severe sobbing corrupting his angelic voice as he tried to explain. Partial lighting caused indigo eyes to blaze with grief while he binged on misconceived blame. Sasuke felt the rain water's glutinous properties as Naruto yanked his clothes away from the sticky safety of his skin. Immediately redirecting his faltering attention from Naruto's health to his ethereal fox-like face, he listened to the remaining shambles of his ramblings. "Sasuke, I'm sorry… I d-didn't know that—that they were going to m-make us give her up. I s-swear. I thought-I thought they were bluffing. I didn't k-know. I-I'm so sorry." Naruto's voice expired as he fell to his knees, grabbing at Sasuke's pant legs._

"_Please forgive me…I'm sorry. I'm a fuck-up, I k-know but please, _**please**_ don't leave me," Naruto shrilly begged, infused with woe and torment, bathed in the heaven's tears. The mussy canary hair smeared around the drenched tan face and neck left him looking like a beautiful mess as he tried to clarify to why this tragedy was all his fault._

_A crack of thunder exploded as his damp hands furiously snatched the shins of his pants and Naruto stayed pleading on his knees. _

_Sasuke teared up as he miserably watched his devoted lover curl on the floor, begging for things no creature should ever have to. Taking full responsibility of the adoption of their first and only daughter when he didn't have any hand in triggering this catastrophe. _

_The excruciating pain from Naruto's thudding temples didn't stop him from his rant. He tightened his grip exponentially as he crawled closer to his stiffened boyfriend. "I know we don't have her anymore and that's my fault but please… Please don't—don't…" Naruto swallowed as a flash of lightening encompassed the evening sky like a tarp. A rap of thunder burst forth as Sasuke leveled with the new mother. _

"_Naruto, Naruto—" He managed to gain the focus of his erratic pupil's err. Gasping, light sobs skating through his rich, garden pink lips, Naruto gripped his denim jeans feeling as empty as a deserted town, shunned—abandoned by its occupants. _

_A reason to live? There wasn't one. His love, his baby, his little girl—was promised to someone else that wasn't him… and there wasn't anything him or anyone could do to reverse the feeling of helplessness. _

_He was lost. _

_It was over. _

_His life was over._

_From his deadened present to his barren future._

"_Listen to me. I am __**never**__ going to leave you, ever. Do you hear me?" Sasuke's sincerity made Naruto bleed with refuse. Why didn't he just desert him? Everyone else had. His friends. His family. Why not Sasuke as well?_

_Naruto sniffled, ceaselessly nodding as Sasuke cupped the side of his neck. _

"_I love you, and that's __**never**__ going to change."_

_**I'm never going to give up on you/**_

_Tears disgorged from underneath Naruto's lashes as he mentally confirmed the truth. "I l-love you—you too. So mu—" Naruto wept, a sob resting on the surface of his chest. "mu-chhh." _

_**But I have nothing left to offer you/**_

"_You can't blame yourself for this because it's not your fault. Do you hear me? …It's mine." _

_Naruto felt a slap of pain blossom in his abdomen caused his healing scar. The previous medications' effects wore thin because he neglected to take his medicine as scheduled. He knew that was a sore mistake when his stomach lurched from the enflamed sensation surrounding his scar._

_Sasuke saw Naruto's mouth contract in pain. The Uchiha reacted by moving Naruto to the console of the bed, figuring he had forgotten his medication. He encircled his wrists, insuring that Naruto couldn't turn away or leave while he spoke. He needed to absorb everything he had to say in succession. It was crucial to their makeup, their being._

"_The day I asked you to be mine was the day that it became my responsibility to protect you from harm. I thought I was doing a great job but the truth is I failed you. I've failed in life as a friend, as a boyfriend, and as a fucking father."_

_Taking a second, Sasuke continued, "If anyone's the fuckup, it's me…" Sasuke inhaled. "I dragged you into my fucked up family knowing you'd get hurt but I was too selfish to let you go."_

"_No, Sasuke—" Naruto shook his head, adamantly denying Sasuke's involvement in their daughter's departure. Everything was his fault. If he had sought an abortion then they wouldn't be in this predicament. Sasuke had nothing to do with his wishful stupidity. _

_There was no indication that this would occur. He had hope for their families. He thought Serenity would change everything. But he guessed he was too idealistic—too hopeful for people that were absolutely hopeless._

"_Naruto, if you were with anybody else—this would have never happened to you. You would have gotten to keep your baby… My father set this in motion and convinced the rest of them to follow." Sasuke muttered, clearly envisioning Naruto and Kiba as the happy couple that everybody idolized instead. A couple that everyone rooted for instead of against—accepted by the masses opposed to rejection. Happiness substituted by complete misery. _

_Naruto should have choosen Kiba. He should have choosen happiness. _

"_If anyone should be begging for your forgiveness it should be me," Sasuke croaked, his shimmery grey eyes apparently worn with doubt and self-resentment. Engrossed by the ooze of Naruto's diverging lackluster aura, Sasuke connected with the free skin of his palms to remind him that yes, he was here, dying with him. _

"_Sasuke—no."_

_Sasuke halted Naruto with a touch to his tear scarred cheeks. "Naruto… I'm supposed to shield you from everything… I'm supposed to be the one that's supposed to make everything okay. This time… I couldn't do that and for that, I'm so sorry." Sasuke roped Naruto in with his trembling arm, entombing Naruto into the full force of his repentance. _

_The muffled cries of the desolate mother caused Sasuke to wedge his face into Naruto's neck, aware of their transforming personalities—feeling their old selves fall straight through the cracks._

…

**April 18**

_With so much said and so many things left unsaid, Naruto cried himself to sleep, their agony plummeting into alignment. Jumbled in the cotton comforter, while sprawled out on the plush mattress, Sasuke stirred before the wake of dawn, sleeping in a twilight disturbed by the conjuring of his overactive mind. Under the dormant sun, he took a look at the beauty coiled in his arms, feeling the dampness meet his unveiled skin. Even though he was in a somber slumber Sasuke could feel a powerful wavelet of discomfort. He could only imagine the nightmares jarring his mind. _

_He cried a majority of the night, shaking and whispering nothings against his chest, sobs stalling his shallow breathing. At times it was unclear if Naruto was awake or asleep or a strange combination of both. _

"_S-Seren-ity… I'm sorry," Naruto mumbled, eyebrows creasing, lips barely flowering into motion._

"_Shhh…" Sasuke pet his hair, trying to pull him from his horrid hallucinations of regret. Feeling the twist of rapt desperation, Sasuke couldn't fathom the guilt coursing through his system. But when Naruto stopped fidgeting in the sheets, Sasuke was thankful. Even though the imaginable had happened, Naruto needed to retain some type of rest. He wouldn't recover from his labor trauma if he didn't sleep sometime in the near future. Rubbing Naruto's back like he was accustomed to when he was pregnant, Naruto fell emotionally restless again—his face tumbling down a hill of apathy. _

_Sasuke refrained from crying, trying to play the solid pillar._

_Careful from alerting Naruto, Sasuke slid out of the blue blanket to take a shower. Turning the cold water on low, remembering how he surrendered his daughter, Sasuke stepped into the spray of the frosty liquid. Closing the shower door, he rested his forehead against the cold tile, his hands joining the team. With a glower of rage, Sasuke pounded his fists against the tile. A sob sprung from the walls of the bathroom as Sasuke snapped, yielding to the baiting camouflage of sadness. _

_She was gone. Forever. His daughter. His first born. His only daughter. _

_And there was nothing that he could do. _

_He had signed the papers and given her up to the system, letting her go into the unknown._

_Faced with the hardest decision of his life, he forfeited. He feared losing Naruto forever to the threat of his father. Had he not agreed, Minato would have sent Naruto to a German boarding school where they would lose all contact with one another. Initially meandering through the ultimatum, he was unsure if the latter was worth it. Refusing would have led to the loss of Serenity and Naruto. Fighting them for the sake of pride? Was it worth it? Fighting them for the love of their daughter? Was it worth it? _

_Sasuke couldn't be certain. In their living, breathing nightmare there wasn't a right or a wrong, only pain._

_Sasuke wiped away his pitiful combination of water and tears, finishing showering, trying to keep the volume level as to not wake Naruto._

_Naruto should have never known that this was more than he could bear. All he needed to know was that he loved him enough to not add his weight to his burden._

…

**April 25**

_Sasuke and Naruto filed through the door, quietly closing it behind them as a ray of light glowing from a welcoming lap in the foyer. _

_Sasuke was returning Naruto to his household of origin against his will, predicting that his hellion parents were wondering where he was. He didn't want them to resort to directing a squad of cops them to uncover their location. It would be best if proved with his presence that they didn't attempt to escape the country. _

_Dropping the small duffle bag of personal items to the floorboards, Naruto threw himself into Sasuke's arms, latching onto him like a barnacle. _

_Hearing the shuffling, hoping Naruto had arrived home from where he had been currently hiding since the 17__th__. He wasn't answering any of their calls, nor had they tried to contact them for any reason. Minato didn't feel the need to search the vicinity—earning a right hook from his wife, former female boxing champion. With the frigid husband's cold attitude, she hurled her wedding band into his forehead, declaring their relationship a wrap. _

_She loved her child more than she loved any foolish man. _

"_I love you," Sasuke whispered into Naruto's ear, tightening around Naruto like a shell of enamel._

"_I love-love you too." Naruto sobbed, a fog of dismay raining over titanium-yellow bristles._

_Kushina looked at them, internally classifying them as the classic epitome of love. Dabbing her glassy eyes, Naruto kissed Sasuke, their souls intermingling for the single pause in time._

_As Sasuke left the mother of his child behind, not paying Kushina an ounce of attention, Naruto collapsed against the door. _

"_Sweetie." Her emotions gained the best of her as she extended her hand to the recovering boy praying her maternal touch had a renewing influence. _

_But Naruto backlashed, appalled that she tried to participate in such an intimate gesture after what monstrosity she partook in. "Mom, if you fucking touch me…" Tears slid down Naruto's cheeks as he pulled in air through his overworked lungs. "I swear—I will break every finger in your fucking hand."_

_With the promising threat, Kushina remained stapled to where she stood. _

_Appreciating that she didn't proceed any further, Naruto staggered to the room on the first floor of the house, his weak body unable to complete the arduous task of climbing the spiral staircase. _

_Intersecting his newly renewed sperm donor, Naruto paused, unexpressive._

_Glaring at his weakened son, he pushed his hands into his lax suit. "See you're back." He glanced at his worn disposition. "Keep it that way."_

"_Why do you hate me so much?" Naruto quietly asked, his rate of hostility waning. Slippery tears running down his face like Niagara Falls. _

_Identical pink lips parted, feeling the authentic confusion connect from Naruto's bewildered soul._

"_You know what?" Naruto sadly smiled. "It doesn't even matter—you've won. Because…"_

_Naruto pulled the dufflebag ahead of his knees, "I'm not fighting with you anymore." Opening the unused bedroom door, Naruto looked back at the horribly taut man. _

"_So go ahead. Take a victory lap." _

_Devilishly traumatized, Minato quickly retreated to his quarters, squaring an area to sulk. And when Kushina checked the bedroom in the morning, Naruto was gone again. _

…

**May 2**

_Sasuke smelled the ink on freshly printed paper in the room, figuring his father was plotting to make another stinging announcement. His depression aching body wobbled toward the cluttered desk that dipped under the weight of the LAPD's documents. Sleep was a dream as of late, as was the fantasy called rest. The dark bags below his eyes announced his fatigue in plain view. Every time he shut his eyes, he saw Naruto black out in the maternity ward and the haunting blueness of his daughter's convivial eyes. One would call it a nightmare but he called it hell. _

_In his crumpled home clothes, he waited for his father to tell him the purpose of this meeting. _

"_It's been two weeks Sasuke." _

_Sasuke's heart shriveled at the words. He silently wished he could run from his father's overbearing hammer of control but he knew if he did, it would only bode worse for him later. _

"_It's about time you return to school. There's no place for delinquents in this family," Fugaku's ominous voice murmured with little forethought. As he returned to referencing a witness's affidavit, a refraction of the afternoon light adding to eldest Uchiha's lethargic mood._

_Sasuke spluttered, misunderstanding the command, "But Naruto needs—"_

_Fugaku's dark, gashing eyes floated up to Sasuke's petrified appearance. "I don't believe this was a discussion boy." He slammed his pen down, glowering at his withering son. "I don't give a damn about what your damsel in distress needs. You can either return to school now or enroll in a school in Japan later. Am I clear?" _

_Sasuke's tired eyes shied to the gleaming floorboards. There was no fighting. He was sick and tired of fighting. It wasn't getting him anywhere. If anything, it made everything worse. _

_He needed to rehabilitate Naruto. He couldn't be relocated to Japan. It would uproot everything he had built for himself here. His life was here. Naruto was his life. Naruto was here._

_But if he returned to school, the effects would be adversely towards Naruto. While he was aware of that, the alternative was far worse. _

_Leaving the issue unhandled, Sasuke left the room knowing that this was the beginning of the end. _

…

_Sasuke returned to his room where Naruto was peacefully resting after he had successfully convinced him into a small meal and some medicine. _

_Feeling a pounding headache come on, Sasuke thought it would be better if he told Naruto immediately rather than sitting on the information._

"_Naruto, baby," Sasuke called, slightly shaking him awake. _

_Naruto quickly shot up, eyes darting off the walls. _

"_Naruto. I'm um, going back to school next week, Monday." Sasuke revealed. _

_Naruto crawled hastily out of the sheet, snatching Sasuke's shoulders. _

"_Wait, Sasuke—don't go. Is it because of me?" Naruto eyes plugged all the fraction of blame and the debris of loneliness and blame into Sasuke's rueful muted silver eyes. _

"_I'll stop whining, I promise. Just don't go back yet. I'm not ready yet," Naruto begged, his lips shuddering a mist of bright red flaming his cheeks. _

'_So beautiful. So innocent,' Sasuke mused, wishing that Naruto didn't have to face all this pain. He deserved better. He deserved someone better._

"_Naruto, Naruto. It's not you. It's… Fugaku, he's threatening to send me to Japan if I don't return."_

_A shock of disappointment flooded those stunning ultramarine eyes that were as majestic as the mountain landscapes. "I'm sorry," Sasuke sincerely apologized._

_Naruto shook his head. Sasuke didn't need to be sorry because he already was. _

_Sorry for thinking they could ever be happy with one another. _

…

**May 7**

_Even with the stabbing pain in his abdomen, Naruto completed his standardized tests at the designated college for his online program. He tried to disregard it in order to score as high as possible. Even though his life was sliding down hill, it didn't mean that his grades had to follow. He wanted to do his best so he could eventually leave this hellhole and stammer out of his grave. _

_But who was he kidding? There wasn't a miracle that could revive him from the dead. _

_Feeling stripped to his bare minimums—he returned to the scene of his pain. His room._

_A haunting eeriness protruded as he viewed his room for the first time since he had given Serenity up. Sauntering in closer, Naruto realized everything from the empty baby bottle to the scattered baby jumpers was left untouched. He felt like a shot of morphine had been injected underneath his skin as kneeled in front of the baby items that Shizune had neatly organized in the corner. Rolling the orange squishy dragon in his palms, tears welled in his eyes when he remembered how dedicated he was to providing for their baby. Every weekend he begged Shizune to buy new toys and baby necessities that he had seen online at Baby's R Us. Unfortunately, items that would ultimately go unused. _

_Swedish cyan's dressed in saline roved over the boxed barbies and alphabetical learning cards and practice books. He strummed his fingers over the spines of the books, putting the toy into his lap. He looked over the shelf over his bed at the vacant space of where his toy Kyuubi stayed since he was 7. It no longer occupied its old home because Naruto had given the precious memento to his daughter. Where it belonged. _

_Even if they never saw each other again, she would have evidence that he did exist, evidence that he had given him an essential component of his being. _

_Something he and her father shared. _

_Swiping away the film of tears, Naruto pondered what to do with all the things his daughter would never use. He could donate them to less fortunate children in desperate need but there was always the possibility his father wouldn't allow it even if it was anonymously contributed. _

_Naruto flinched at the hesitant knock against the wooden door. Abruptly turning to the figure, he was only met with a concerned Shizune. Sniffling, Naruto relaxed as she walked into the room carefully._

"_Naruto, is…?" A ball of grueling irresolution clogged her throat as the chilling current roamed through the room space. _

_A tormenting sob drilled into Naruto's trembling body as he enshrouded his mouth. "Yes, s-she's gone Shi-s-zune." _

_A deafening muteness invaded as Naruto felt the sharpness of a bayonet carve out the love and devotion he had prepared for Serenity, harboring the untainted emotions and swapping it with a soundless hollow. A numbness that no human being should ever experience. _

_Feeling the fresh groove in Naruto's eternally altered life; Shizune couldn't find any words that would be even remotely comforting. _

"_Can you—" She looked up immediately. "please help me move these things into the closet?"_

_Shizune nodded, knowing that this wasn't only the end to their chapter but that it might be the last one in the book. _

…

**May 11**

_All the statues that he used to know changed into unfriendly strangers as they stared like he was a foreign creature. They didn't know what he had just endured. The separation that he suffered was the worst anyone could imagine. He couldn't speak—he could barely move. His bones creaked and muscles ached as he floated through the halls, performing the motions of a "regular" student. People didn't bother persuading Sasuke into a talking about the awful ordeal. They couldn't even accomplish eye contact; he would look through them like they were transparent. _

_Gaara, Temari, and Sai couldn't get him to utter a word. His stress lingered over the group like a black cloud. Sasuke was the black sheep of their posy but he that didn't mean that the deserved to be wallowing in a cavity of overwhelming pain. Every day was the same. He came like a phantom and left like one too._

_Kiba was suspicious as to why Sasuke seemed to be crumbling at the seams. He hoped that his sorrow wasn't Naruto-centric. He wanted Naruto to be healthy and happy, preferably without Sasuke. If he found out otherwise, the fucking Uchiha was a dead man walking. _

_Sasuke avoided all contact with every single individual he crossed. He didn't care about them. All he could think about was Naruto. He wanted to be home—tending to Naruto's C-section wound and assembling Naruto's mental health. With an entire house abundant with weapons and poisonous medicines available, he feared Naruto would try to harm himself, possibly even turn suicidal. To try to remedy his pronounced anxiety, he texted him until he pulled into the driveway. His number one priority was Naruto's safety._

_After his first week away, he called Naruto to ensure he was doing everything he needed to in regard to the geometry testing._

"_Hey, Naruto how was your day?"_

_Silence took a front seat._

"_Fine."_

_There was an atypical aloofness that Sasuke had never received from Naruto before. It was like there was a different person on the other end of the phone._

_Ambling, Sasuke refused to believe what he knew was true. _

_Naruto was too far gone._

_.._

**Poor SasuNaru.**

**Snifffleeee, thanks for reading.**


	11. The Bloody Mile

_**Hi, long time no see. I haven't been doing well medically in the past year as you can tell with my infrequent updating. Even though I've been diagnosed with depression and anemia, please empathize with me. I'm trying, I promise. I hate to not update. It's not me. So please bear with me. I'll finish this story and I'll try to do it in a timely manner. I hope it's not too much to ask. Thank you. Lastly, I hope everyone had a happy filling and **__**fulfilling**__** Thanksgiving ^.^**_

Sort of Unbeta'd.

_**May 10**_

CH1**1**: The Bloody Mile

_Naruto had completed the state testing for the completion of freshman year at the nearby community college. Drudging through the hallways was a task meant for the Mongolians. The weakness from the blood loss, from the required blood transfusion, left him like a small weakling. He tried to concentrate, rely completely on his mental ability, independent of emotion. He just called every detail of the academic classes that he had thoroughly perused on his personal laptop from mid-pregnancy until its conclusion. After he completed the exams, some weeks ago, he and Sasuke had been visiting two emotional continents. There was nothing between them. No words. Not a glance. Nothing. Now was the best time to exchange their impressions of the new life that was chosen for them. After he completed his testing near the local college, they hadn't shared much of anything. Not a word, not a glance._

_Regrettably, they were drifting like rafts in the infinite black sea, intercrossing at times but never connecting. Naruto panicked. Fearing that if he took a single step in the wrong direction, he would propel them into a never-ending downward spiral. On the other landmass, Sasuke was trying hard to prevent their imminent destruction on a day by day basis. Every afternoon, like clockwork his seraphic aura walked in with a withdrawn smile and usually some sweet gesture, whether it be a small dessert or a small trinket that he thought that Naruto would enjoy. _

_Naruto was appreciative, he really was, but there was a limited amount of times he could give gratitude, before he gave the impression he was entitled to such kindness. Each time he accepted his gifts, he felt selfish and even more confused. How was he supposed to just be…normal? _

_Average 15 year olds were supposed to be concerned about the nature of their social lives, the outcome of their school work, and the prospects of getting into a great college. But they weren't as privileged to experience such a bout of normality. Their daring and Sasuke's challenge was to just survive one afternoon under their parent's roof in one metaphorical piece. After what they did to them and their daughter, there was no way they could go about being __**normal**__. Just worrying about what normal teenagers did. _

_Everything that he said, everything that he did would be doused with the memory of Serenity, his first and only daughter. _

_He couldn't just impractically conduct his life in the unyielding manner as he had before. There was no way he could go through this pain __**again**__._

"_What did you say you wanted to talk about?" Sasuke asked with solicitude. His ashy eyes, lily-white skin and godly perfect features charmed Naruto to express what was currently stirring in his mind. Preoccupied with the beautiful knockout, he summoned the will, careful not to stammer over his words. _

"_Um, something important," Naruto mumbled almost silently, high contrasted quantum eyes that appeared to be glazed over with high spring sun. But when Sasuke looked again it was apparent that it wasn't the reflection of the excess sunlight pouring in, it was newly forming tears._

_Glancing back at his boyfriend, Naruto sighed, straightening his spine. "Y'know I love you, right?"_

_Knowing that a bombshell was approaching, Sasuke didn't move an inch on the bed, not a hair flicking, not a breath stirring. He need not respond with the like. Naruto knew exactly where they stood and how much emotion he felt for him, not just love alone._

_With that stunning information, Naruto proceeded, squeezing Sasuke's hand for courage. _

"_I've been thinking, um, that, I don't want to try again."_

_Feeling like a samurai sword sliced his heart clear in two, Sasuke managed to remain deathly still, allowing the expressive blond to finish._

"_I would f-feel like we're trying to replace h-her and… I don't want to ever feel like I'm trying to do that." An unsteady fountain of tears swamped Naruto's scarlet cheeks, his nails scraped Sasuke's perspiring palms. Guilt immersed him in a world of self-loathing as he consumed the look on Sasuke's face. An unimaginable strain of hurt that had no known cure exhibited in its true form. He was a bad boyfriend—no, a bad human being for having his mouth piloting such heinous actions._

_Soul splitting in two, mouth ajar, he crumbled to smithereens as translated what Naruto said into clearer terms: 'I don't want to have any more children __**with you**__.'_

_With an edge cutting sob, Naruto went on, "If you don't want to be with me anymore or in the future," Naruto paused, sniffling. "I'll unders-stand."_

_Sasuke weakly smiled as his delayed body finally kicked into gear. "If you don't want to have kids in the future, then I'll respect your wishes," Sasuke muttered, love sheathing his tone, callous hands carefully cradling his lover's wet, warm cheeks. "As long as I have you, I don't care." _

_Pressing his forehead against Naruto's, he embraced him tightly, knowing that that this was exactly what he needed. He shut his eyes, locking away the sharp ache festering in his chest. He couldn't be sad. He didn't have the right to be sad. He loved Naruto and he had no problem sacrificing for him, even if it meant giving up the one thing he wanted the most in the world, a family. Their own family. Naruto was worth that. _

"_I'm s-sorry, baby. I just can't—I know I'm being selfish and I know, I—" Sasuke instantly soothed him into silence, ruling his explanation moot. _

"_You don't need to justify your emotions. I know. I know." Sasuke stroked the frizzy dandelion hair with adoration, accepting the challenge of depriving himself of his life's dream, knowing that it was going to be like strolling through hell's eternal flames. Swallowing every reservation, he knew it would be worth it in the end._

_Naruto cried—wishing Sasuke had accepted his ticket to freedom because he __**knew**__ that he would __**never **__be enough. _

…

_Naruto knew that one day that Sasuke prove that he could be a better father than his ever was. He knew that Sasuke loved him so much, he literally dreamed of the combination of their miniature counterparts skittering a lushly vibrant emerald lawn. Creating something with him that was part him. The usually restrained boy didn't have to utter a word. The account of his dream rehearsed on the coat of his expression when they mentioned their future and lived on the plane of his pupils when he gazed on their eyes. _

_He didn't want to be accused of giving up on them but he knew when to scream uncle. Their parents were a major component to their ruination. They were determined to drag them to a screeching halt._

…

_**May 11**_

_Sasuke's heritage was revered by the community. He was gifted in the most important areas known to man. Academically savvy, aesthetically pleasing, exceptionably privileged, societally flexible, and exceptionably articulate. Everything the common man yearned to be. Only striving for the best—highest grades, the biggest football scores, and the most successful relationship. By popular belief, he was flawless and so was his life. But nothing was further from the truth. Apparently, these innate assets led to the road to the happiness but the truth was these advantages pertained to happiness. If anything, the Uchiha name masked his ability to feel such an emotion, god forbid prevented it._

_At times, the expectations and his image were too burdensome to tote. He felt smothered while forced into a shadow of an impression he couldn't quite duplicate._

_With a gilded life, money and power constantly eclipsing the dysfunction of his family, he hypothesized if Los Angeles journalist publically dissected it, the public would be horrified. Reckless fights, dangerous disagreements, and life-altering decisions, would come exposed to the judgmental microscope. It was a game of battleships and somehow his floating device always sunk under the brutal waters. _

_His bruised knuckles were tired of the never-ending war. _

_Under these extenuating circumstances, he wished he could assume a different identity. He wished he could have a name that didn't come with all the connotations of constrained success. Naruto would too. Then they would steal Serenity and run away into the sunset._

_He just wanted to share their loving relationship with his daughter and be the best parents they could possibly be. _

_Unfortunately, the stigma that the teenagers weren't able to be parents butchered his argument every single time. He would be tarnishing the accomplishments his family had made for themselves since they emigrated from Tokyo, Japan. With their engrained morals of education and age appropriate romances, they didn't favor their accepted change of philosophy. Supposedly American culture was altering their values and modifying their lens on an honorable lifestyle. Abdicating the ideology of a small family, he threw in the towel to his rebellious dreams. They just weren't feasible at this point._

_His father didn't comprehend it was more complex than just two young adults creating another human being. It was outside the limits of a basic biology lesson and an ethic grasp. He didn't give a fuck about money or power, or his stupid image. He just wanted Naruto and his newborn baby. It wasn't rocket science. That depraved monster just made it seem like it was. _

_To prevent fulmination, Sasuke sat on the edge of Naruto's bed waiting for him to return home. Yesterday in preparation, he jetted downtown to purchase an adornment for today's occasion, Mother's Day. It was imperative he give Naruto the glorious maternal pendant in conjunction with a specially designed cake to accomplish the undulating task of making Naruto smile, at least talk, considering he hadn't breathed a word in days. It probably wouldn't be easy but he had to at least try. If he didn't do that he would be surrendering his ambition to care for his special lover._

_The blond refused to eat. As result, he barely slept anymore. His caustic nightmares ripped the hope of sleep from his petrified blue eyes. He didn't take his blood thinning medication nor his painkillers for his healing Cesarean scar. Inconsolable at the core, Sasuke couldn't find the proper words to break through to Naruto. Even coming from him, there was nothing he could say that would improve their situation. _

_He couldn't get Serenity back. He couldn't promise that they would see her again. He couldn't promise that they would be normal again. _

_Wilting to the torture of the hell of a chasm, Sasuke waited, waited for Naruto to return to him._

…

_Sitting in the stool he associated with the summer of '08, he casually perfected disguising his misery with measured talents, pouring it over his straightened profile. He needed an outlet from all the horror of his life. He was here to work, grief aside. He auspiciously avoided Sasuke, figuring he would prevent him from coming here just because of his mental and his physical condition. Sasuke would have a legitimate argument to make. His hair appeared like he walked out the savage wilderness. His routinely olive flesh was rugged with the wear of fatigue and thin body was visually deprived of succulent nutrients. He wasn't concerned about his health or his appearance to this judgmental society. He was more concerned about who was handling, feeding, tending to his beautiful daughter. Was it some psychotic psychopath with a taste for blood? Or was it a tender, mirthful family that could provide a more stable atmosphere than his erratic, dysfunctional family could?_

_He couldn't fathom… how his baby was doing._

_And it was killing him._

_This load was a burden that he couldn't carry anymore. _

_Looking at the fine China teacups china cased across the narrow isle, Naruto felt like he was cornered in a different definition placed on his value, in an unordinary dimension. The last time he looked at these antiques, he and Sasuke were at their peak, joined at the hip. Now, everything was the flipped, like some alternate universe._

"_Hey, squirt!" Tsunade called smugly from the back room. _

_Naruto attempted a smile but failed miserably. Thankfully, the older woman didn't notice his unsuccessful gesture. She approached him all the same, a subtle smile that sparked a bundle of dynamite embedded in his heart. _

"_You didn't tell me you were coming in," She mused out loud with a frown. _

"_Well, I thought I should be spontaneous since you know it __**is**__ one of my redeeming qualities," he stiffly muttered, his nails raking insistently at the back of his hands, thinking that he might have bitten off more than he could chew. _

_She laid her manicured hand on the counter, absorbing Naruto's disastrous appearance as a basic thought zipped through her head. "Where's that little bambino?"_

_He tried to keep his mouth sealed and just avoid letting his composure rot. If he held everything together with a tiny red string, he wouldn't fall apart. He wouldn'twouldn'twouldn't—but still he cracked under the pressure. _

"_I—I gave her up for adoption," Naruto confessed, shielding his mouth from the cutting sob that wracked his body. Soul dying, heart torn into pieces, he felt the torrid cataract of tears enshroud his face. _

_God, he never felt more stupid in his life. Stupid for breaking down and crying like a feminine little wimp that couldn't handle the reality of his pain. Stupid for thinking he was ready to handle the contact with other people. Stupid for ever thinking that he could be happy. Stupid for thinking his family would ever let him be happy. Stupid for everything._

_Tsunade hastily made it to the counter. "Naruto, I don't think that you should be here. Go home," Her voice was low and critical as she spoke to Naruto as he pressed himself to compose his reaction about his daughter. "When you're ready to talk about it, we will," Tsunade whispered compassionately. Hearing but only able to nod, Naruto slipped from his elevated stool, not expecting to run into her arms. In the safety of her arms, he heard her utter something of rare proportion. "Never forget that I love you, kid." _

_Naruto only cried harder. "I l-love y-you too."_

…

_Naruto got on the road, waiting for his driving to pick him up on the corner of the nearest avenue. In the meantime, he felt blood gurgle behind his eyes, weights drag down his limbs. He was so drained, of vitality of life. In a span of year, he felt like his body had aged an entire 20 years._

_The gentle breeze shoved his hair ruthlessly to one side, the sun steeping his eyes. He had called his personal driver approximately ten minutes ago but he wasn't one to rush the help. He knew it was a pivotal time in the day when traffic was at its peak. The congestion on the downtown roads explained his usually inexcusable tardiness. It didn't matter really. It's not like he was in any hurry to run back to the pool house. He knew Sasuke would be waiting for him, something he wasn't really looking forward to._

_As he was swallowed by the busy streets, herded by drifting pedestrians, a familiar face made itself known in shot's distance, Sakura Haruno. The daughter of Insurance Corporate businessman Kizashi Haruno and beauty consultant, Mebuki Haruno, was the supreme version of the expression "triple threat." She was considered beautiful, intelligent, and exceptionally athletic. Being the track star of their district, she was wildly popular at school, arguably the most revered and most sought after girl on the entire campus. Always dressed to impress in the most expensive wear, decked in light, mature make-up, she was nothing short of booshie. With her parent's invaluable money and power, she could gain her anything she wanted within reason, if she couldn't already obtain it with a flick of her wrist. _

_Compared to him, she was usually the student body's favorite to win Sasuke's heart. In a foolish Valentine Day's poll, they were even voted ideal couple by the student body. While he tried not to take it personally, it still irritated him to know that people thought she was more deserving of Sasuke than he was. Everyone knew that she apparently had a crush on Sasuke since they were in middle school making the "story" much more captivating fairytale in their eyes._

_He didn't hate her for her shallow feelings but he didn't ignore it either. She was just one of the girls that he feared had the potential to make Sasuke's attention sway. _

_In her tight Vera Wang number, her hips animatedly swayed as she approached him, his emerald gaze already spotting him on the street. _

_With a cold smile that never reached her eyes, she poised her hand on her hip, repetitiously tapping her Chloe heals on the smoothly paved sidewalk, and cocked her head, staring at Naruto like he had grown a second head. _

"_Sakura," Naruto politely said, trying to hide the hostile attitude that threatened to surface. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Oh you know, mother's day. Looking for the most spectacular present, for my lovely mother. Because she deserves the best after all." He doubted she could purchase anything of monetary value that her mother didn't already own but he digressed to his mother. Quickly, his train of thought was derailed at Sakura's languishing grin._

"_Speaking of whereabouts, where have you been the past few months, Naruto?" She said bitterly, her tone forging a wedge in the decency they tried to formerly have with one another despite the bad blood they harbored over Sasuke._

_Naruto nearly answered but she didn't even give him the chance. "Just one day you're here and then you're not. You just leave Sasuke at school and drop off the face of the earth, to God knows where. What kind of boyfriend does that?" She asked offensively. Of course naturally, she didn't know the situation, nor did she regard her lack of details with merit. She wasn't aware that he was pregnant or that his parents hated the idea of them sharing something so "permanent" or that they tried to cover it up by withdrawing him or that he had the baby, held her, __**loved**__ her, kissed her, then gave her up for adoption or or or—_

_Her laugh was so cruel, demeaning. "At this point, it didn't even matter where you went. All that matters is that __**you**__," she pointed to him, "left." _

_Traumatized, Naruto stood trembling, eyes looking like the twin sets of Neptune, mirroring the cloudy, noxious sapphire gases. _

"_Why don't you just give it up? Let Sasuke be happy with someone else." Naruto knew she didn't mean anyone, she meant her. "Someone he can __**actually**__ have a family with."_

_Scoffing, in a blur of tears, he saw her shake her head and leave as fast as she came. _

_She was right. She was fucking right. He should give Sasuke up to someone who would give him happiness, not take it from him. He already told Sasuke wouldn't—couldn't have a family with him because he was damaged. _

_Choking up, exploding into a new fit of tears, Naruto didn't realize it was only three minutes until his driver arrived on the corner of 27__th__. _

…

_Naruto slunk through the master bedroom, flagging every nerve in Sasuke's body with his unceasing crying. The dark haired boy came to his side as expected and it made Naruto cry even harder. Why was here? Why didn't he just leave him already? Hadn't he had enough?_

_Through his fuzzy vision, he saw he his beautiful face smeared with concern and slight anger toward the source of his pain. Love. Naruto also saw love._

"_Naruto, what happened?"_

_He wiped his face as Sasuke's firmly handled his shoulders. _

_With a strong sob, he shook his head, wishing it would drive Sasuke from asking because he couldn't tell him what Sakura said. _

_He just couldn't tell him… _

_That he finally loved him enough to let him go…_

_/Chapter11__**End**__._

_Well, shucks, if you could leave me a review, I would appreciate it. Love to all my readers, thanks for everything. –Kiss— _


	12. Impending Disaster

**A/N: **Hey! I missed you guys a lot. Thank you for waiting so patiently. You guys are the best. So, so much has been happening in my life. Like college eating me alive. More medical problems

(-.-) I was really focused on college (their course load was really heavy), although I really hate my school. _**BUT**_ I completed my first semester with a 4.0 GPA. I know I haven't been writing much but college was more important. With that said, I hope that everyone's holiday season was spectacular! (:

As of now, I don't have a full schedule. Just two classes, so I'm free to do much more, include write so don't worry, we'll be back on soon enough. So without further ado, I give you Chapter 12.

**July 29, 2010**

"_I'll go get you some. Don't worry about it." Sasuke bestowed a benevolent glance to Naruto, the defined tendons in his arm appearing easily as he stretched his arms out. Naruto felt his dry eyes curiously critique every dire movement. The love and care illustrated into every little centimeter attested to the devotion Sasuke lived to profess. The regular connection his eyes made would have normally established wholesomeness but in reality, it unknowingly displayed uninhibited apathy. He felt the bland, parched taste prickle at the soft buds near his tonsils, amid a horrible cloud of deep psychological depression. _

_The jerk of his head signified that he did comprehend Sasuke's previous statement granting his voice a shred of clemency, sewing his lips shut._

_As the temperature cooled and the room emptied, he looked no further for comfort. The strata of contentedness slowly desisted as the four walls bled from the abuse of Naruto's ailing pain. Slowly, he felt the world enclose on him coming to a brutal end._

_The open dresser drawer brutally screamed for the attention of his gander. The rumbles—strangled him as he thought about Sasuke's procedural slight OCD and neatness that kept his room acutely organized at all times. Didn't he notice that he was open? Why would he leave it open? _

_The trance reeled him in—begging for the notice in the background of Naruto's damaged, conservative psyche. _

_The journey of misadventure concluded with tragedy as he peek led him to tears._

_His trembling hands procured a small velvet box—presumably an engagement one. His presumptions were confirmed when he blindly opened the box—unseeing of the hurt that would soon become familiar. He swallowed, letting his curiosity eat him alive, ticking the box open softly. Inside on the crimson velvet read, marry me Naruto?_

_He wept, so deeply he could have moisturized the horrendously dry Death Valley, converting it into a vivacious forest. _

"_He didn't… He didn't want to marry me," He whispered, the light headed sensation piercing his eye sockets, the deep pain calling for another shower of tears. _

_They had never openly discussed marriage but they both had hinted at it on numerous occasions, especially with the pending addition to their family. But that had all changed when… they lost Serenity. _

'_He's not in love with me anymore.'_

Present Day

**September 14, 2011**

Chapter 1**2**: Impending Disaster

Naruto 16, Sasuke 17

"So you know how old people drive like snails, right?" Naruto asked at the head of the table, emulating the likes of the elderly.

"You would start the day by offending an entire generation of people." Shikamaru remarked with a sigh as he rested his chin on back of his hands, aggravated.

"Shut up," Naruto snapped, waving his hand at Shikamaru. "So yeah, his hands were literally quivering on the steering wheel, and he was crawling on the road." Naruto unconsciously emulated the hands of an elderly person with Parkinson's.

He imitated the scenario to a tee, his hands wavering as if he were the old man in the vehicle. "Then, I'm driving beside him at a moderate rate."

Kiba looked up at him questioningly. "You mean at 70 miles an hour."

Naruto glared. "You shut the hell up too."

"And then—" He paused, concentrating on the odd churning in his stomach, traveling up his abdomen in a hot flutter. In a sudden lunge, he braced his stomach and hurled onto the nearby floor.

Extraneous gasps including everyone at the table were resounded in the cafeteria. Temari leaped into action and supported the wobbly blond who nearly tumbled off his footing. Sai cringed and moved to hold the other side of Naruto as he heeled to the opposite side of Temari.

Naruto was scared. He didn't know what was happening. Not but a moment ago, he felt like his typical self, cracking jokes about his driving experiences and now, he was loopy and dizzy with grueling stomach aches and strong back pains. What was happening? Was he going to die or something? He really hoped not. He had too much to live for. Too many things left undone.

Suddenly when that thought sped through his mind, he knew exactly what was _wrong_ with him.

Shikamaru quickly handed napkins over for Naruto to wipe his mouth of the puke. He did so. To the group, he appeared to be so out of it, they weren't sure if they should immediately call 911.

Ino jumped and grabbed Naruto shoulder, prompting his scared eyes to connect with hers. "Are you okay, Naruto?" She asked.

Naruto appreciated their worry but he didn't think that he was going to expire right here and now. This was just some freak occurrence. He pretty confident he would be alright. "It's okay. I'm fine, you guys," He weakly muttered.

Kiba sprang into action and safely put Naruto into piggyback style. "Kiba…" Naruto tried to protest but failed. He was already on the move no matter what he said to try to deter his assistance. Kiba wasn't going to listen. He always felt responsible for him and that was never going to change.

"Even though you might feel fine, you should really get checked out."

Ino and Temari looked at each other and then at the duo who exited the cafeteria double doors. The two blonds nonverbally agreed on doing a small amount of damage control.

"What the FUCK are you guys looking at?" Temari blasted across the room, slamming her hands on the table. "Mind your goddamn business and _please_ stuff your fucking faces _quietly_!"

A still hush incidentally cannonballed the room. Temari's smile was as wide as a slice of watermelon at cafeteria's reaction. "Thank you."

Shikamaru quietly marveled that Temari could be so surprisingly abrasive even while being perfectly polite. He would love address such an oddly eccentric trait but there were more important things in play. Like Naruto's health.

…

Naruto felt awful as he sat still on the examination table in nurse's office. Really awful. Thanks to his abrupt puking he had inadvertently cut the morning brunch short, tainting the stability his friends. Now, they were inevitably worried and scared about the cause of his sudden hurl. He didn't know where all this horror came from but he just wished for it to go away so everything could be normal.

He didn't want to be accused of ruing the day when it was supposed to be a conventional autumn day with run of the mill teachers with their trivial assignments.

He wiped his brow for the thousandth time, feeling the burst of anxiety clouding the process of a proper thought. Were his scatterbrain functioning at full capacity, he would have realized that this was the absolute worst day for this to happen. Sasuke wasn't here today. He was at his prospective University taking an academic placement test. Most likely he wouldn't return for the rest of the day. If he knew what was going on the one day he couldn't be here, he would worry to death.

Great, not only did he accomplish worrying all his close friends, he also made himself feel even worse.

He had a hunch what chaos his body was enduring but if he were to seriously take it into consideration he would have another mental breakdown. He tried to shove those thoughts clear out of his mind. He needed confirmation that this sudden illness was not what he thought it was.

Until then, he would remain on edge.

…

Kiba was holding his hand tightly as they sat quietly in the waiting room. It alleviated all the tension swirling in his rattled stomach. Everything that had just happened over the span of the last few minutes was terrifying but at least he wasn't alone during this beastly experience.

The thin sheet of silence was cracked when Kiba curiously turned to him. "How are you feeling?" He whispered, concerned.

Naruto looked up into his dark, worried eyes, absorbing the whirl of emotions that were floating through the fluctuating levels of sanity in the room.

"I'm not sure," Naruto whispered truthfully to the dark haired man, furrowed his brow as he stared at the combination of their hands.

"But I am a little relieved that you're here with me." Naruto conjured a smile for Kiba unknowing that the friction that displayed were more scarring and more dangerous than the surface of the sun.

He was waiting for the nurse to gather her tools when his partial entourage walked in. Shikamaru and Sai rushed in, appearing winded in the process. Naruto didn't mind though. He actually appreciated it. They still managed to arrive in a timely manner. Naruto surmised that they were still doing additional damage control and then rushed here to make sure he was being seen.

"Can you guys do me a favor?" Panic bubbled on his face and his friends zoomed into the best fanatical fear turning up. He exhaled, his fingers stroking the inside of Kiba's palm. He prepared the rambling thoughts perusing his head.

"Don't tell Sasuke about this under any circumstances. He can't know."

The illumination of confusion radiated in the across the medical tools. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity as they read each other's array of expressions.

Kiba shared the heat of his hand with Naruto but he didn't his delusional attempt to keep something so crucial from the other teen. He knew that a lot had happened. "But everyone saw it. He's bound to find out sometime."

The danger that Sasuke would become belligerently angered by Naruto's condition, loomed over the four teenagers precariously. Kiba and Naruto's eyeballs shrewdly locked and then tore apart from each other slowly. The small pittance that wouldn't have elicited a valid stir in anyone but it only alarmed one individual: Shikamaru.

He wasn't given the opportunity to comment as Naruto flicked a stray hair from his eyes, stress trickling in his true blues. "This is true but let him hear it from someone else. Not you guys. It will at least buy me some time. Okay?"

The trance of Naruto's mellowing blue eyes pushed a subtle nod from the three boys. The automatic response caused Naruto to issue a heart-dropping smile, relief sweeping his previously stern expression. "Thank you."

"If you need anything—" Kiba twisted his fingers into Naruto's naturally unruly mop, his hungry lips vying for Naruto's, but achingly, he settled for his cheek.

Naruto appreciatively matched his kiss, finally admiring Kiba's ability to take excellent care of him, irrespective of their varying circumstances. "I'll be fine." He smiled, his hand covering the length of his cheek, the amount of love he exuded bathed his wrenching fear.

It was all well to say that but there couldn't have been anything further from the truth.

**September 15**;

_Downtown Free Los Angeles Clinic_

He dressed conspicuously in an opaque baseball cap concealing his identity, knowing that this was his only option. He didn't want to go to a regular doctor where they would document the visit in face of his family's fragility. Had he supplied his insurance card; there was a sliver of a chance that his father could discover the procedural medical billing and then proceed to question him about the visit. At these facilities run by the government, under the law he was protected from them revealing the nature of his visit under any circumstances without legal repercussions. The relative safety was exactly what he needed.

He already knew that he was being discussed to ad nauseam among his peers because of mishap in the common area but he didn't let that jar his cage. He still needed to get the care that he was aware the school nurse couldn't provide. In a place where Sasuke and his family couldn't uncover what was going on.

Stepping on the concrete platform in front of the parking lot, he ignored the screaming sounding from his jittery tummy. It was a small window; extremely tiny with a foggy tint, smeared with ripe condensation. The rectangular sign read, "Welcome all" with a promising smiley face that somehow discouraged him even more. Still weary, he pulled the door open and walked inside. Glimpsing at the dreggy walls and the quiet office, he still approached the front desk.

He spoke but he didn't remember all that he said. It was a blur and so was the reason for his visit. He sat down blearily playing with his digits, breathing with irregularity. He felt his temperature spike and his head spin. After what felt like hours, he heard his name from behind the clear shield the receptionist sat behind.

A shade of gray masked his function and his false smile coated his anxiety. The doctor took his temperature. Normal. Blood pressure. A little high but normal. Ears normal. Urine test.

He blindly went into the bathroom and peed into the tube just as instructed. When his limbs choppily walked back to the small room, he handed the sample to the lab technician that readily anticipated the return of the tube.

Then the longest minutes of his life occurred.

"Came back clear for the most part." The doctor flipped the sheet, meticulously examining the results.

Naruto pensively peered at the clipboard, his glistening blue eyes marked with apprehension.

"Oh," she unexpectedly squeaked. _There was more._ "Congratulations! You're pregnant!" She merrily said, thrusting the papers down to her chest.

And the floodgates opened to a plane of tears that just wouldn't cease.

_Pregnant_.

…

Yeah, so that's where we're going with this story. Backstory will be provided next chapter. That's half written. Should be up soon. I wanted to add Fugaku and Minato's history retroactively but I'm not sure if that should be its own separate story or if I should do a short intermission in this story. I dunno. In this case, I'll decide after the plot progresses a little more. If you'd like, tell me what you would prefer.

(Element will be updated soon. The chapter is just really long, making it difficult to edit -_-")

Thanks for reading. Don't be afraid to leave your thoughts and what not down below.


	13. With A Hit, It's Still Amiss

Week Late. Broke out into hives on Wednesday. The itching made me want to rip my skin OFF. UGH. A true ordeal. I missed you guys. But at least I updated eventually, even though I already started school :8

Please take this story as one of my apologies. This update is real… and the story will be continued haha. I've been busy dealing with trials and tribulations of adulthood, death, personal problems, ah and my mental dysfunctions. But I'm here and that's all that matters. Thanks for sticking with me. I couldn't be more thankful for your dedication.

Read onnnnn. And enjoy. Love you guys. :*

CH1**3**: With a Hit, It's Still Amiss

**September 26**

_Common Area_

The young juniors digested the whistle of the morning air current, jiving to the tranquil vibe that had been kidnapped in the past year. The siblings Temari and Gaara, with the tagalongs Ino were settled at the lower level seating in the common area.

"You've grown a little too tall," Temari patted the seat beside her. "Sit down."

The suggestion appeared to spark a ripple in Gaara's foamy green eyes. Temari anxiously turned away and nervously adjusted her blazer. "Never mind," she chirped.

Even though she retracted her statement in her head, she still could feel her younger brother searing a hole in her sensitive temple. The imaginary aching throbbing in the side of her head made her particularly anxious. She shifted on the metal bench temperately. Not feeling an improvement in her safety, she skittered to Ino's right side, delving into her shoulder. "Being in the mist of the devil is not the best recipe for a pleasant morning."

She rethought her choices. "Kankuro is right… Maybe I am intimidated by height alone."

Ino looked into her shoulder. "Really? I could have figured that after you tried to pull my Jimmy Choos off my feet after you decided to wear your little Miu Miu flats." The platinum blonde rolled her eyes. "Tell Kankuro he's a perfect judge of character!"

Temari's mouth hung open, obviously offended. "That is not a good example!"

The mobile black lagoon often labeled as _Sasuke_ slunk into the half-circle soundlessly. All gags stopped headfirst at the blight of his appearance. Gaara folded his arms and rested back on his heels. It had been a while since Sasuke had decided to greet them. He usually internally diffused his need to commiserate so early in the morning and reported straight to the first class to be marked for attendance. The change of pace had certainly caught them of guard.

The glossy black tresses tossed in the wind, snowy skin basking in the array of solar rays scampering about the campus.

Ino straightened her posture and Temari cleared her throat. "Sasuke… What a pleasure to have you here…"

Dressed casually, a pair of ripped jeans and a pair of red and white Nikes. He had been sporting a longer hairstyle than he had in the past years. His usually chin length bangs weren't in the business of getting trimmed regularly. Lifting his head, he gave a blank stare. Nothing out of the usual there.

Even with his interchangeably passive and actively aggressive personality, Sasuke was still agreeably attractive. The fusion of intelligence, mystery, and dry sarcasm made him amusing enough to be around.

"You look especially handsome today."

Sasuke stiffly looked at her. "It's never going to happen."

Temari grunted in increasing disapproval. "I knowwwww. But it won't kill me to keep trying."

"Anyone know where Naruto is?" Sasuke asked in his usual monotone voice that somehow had a concerned aptitude to it.

"We thought that maybe you could tell us that." Temari mistakenly piped.

Ino slapped her arm violently, her icy sapphire eyes dished a warning glance that was a few moments too late.

A switch quickly flipped and a flare of heat sparked under Temari's behind. "Why would I know that? I'm _not_ his keeper."

"I know. I know. I mean duh. It's very possible that you wouldn't know where he was. To answer your question, we have not seen from the time of 7:35 until… now."

They all took a second to realize that the really weren't aware of Naruto's whereabouts. No one had spoken to him since yesterday, which was typical, when Naruto returned home, he liked to focus solely on his school work, not small talk. They just assumed that it was one of those nights where he didn't feel like extending a social invitation. For months at a time, they were encouraged to not contact Naruto in any shape or form, making it difficult to talk to him about just anything when not in his presence.

A demonic aura vibrated through the air molecules and inevitably struck both blondes.

As quickly as he came, visibly annoyed, he departed without a backward glance.

Twitting, Ino patted Temari's head. "It's okay that you're forgetful."

Temari visibly sulked, visualizing their cohesive cohort from the past. "It's not that I'm not forgetful… It's just I want things to go back to the way they were."

Ino lowered her head. "I know… Ever since Naruto came back things haven't been the same but at least they're better, _I suppose_."

Temari allowed the breeze to grapple it aggressively. "You're right. Time heals all wounds."

The artic blonde nodded. "At least most of them." Ino thoughtfully looked at Gaara. "Right, Gaara?"

He glanced at her blues, deaf to her reasoning but keen to her mounting emotions.

"Depends on what time is healing…" he cryptically answered.

Temari played the words on her lips, her tongue savoring every word. Raising her head, she narrowed her eyes and cocked her head, a realization hitting her hard like a construction freight train. "Gaara, what do you know?"

Gaara obscurely sealed his mouth. The firey redheaded boy looked at them, a flood concealed knowledge shrouding him. His eyes took to the ground as he failed to respond to her loaded question.

Shikamaru eventually graced the world with his presence- mumbling something in substitution for 'good morning.' Sasuke acknowledged him with a glance and then proceeded to check his phone for the millionth time since 6:15 A.M.

"Hello, earthlings," Sai chimed, the unmistakable smile planted on usual blank canvas.

Sasuke couldn't be more impartial to the male that even made his skin prickle with apprehension. If Sai wasn't enrolled in school, religiously attending with proper upkeep of his assignments, Sasuke would predicted a future of a serial killer for him.

"Why are you looking for Naruto so early anyway?" Shikamaru groggily asked, rubbing his earthy colored eyes.

Sasuke was a little reluctant to share but the jab from Shikamaru's incessant gander, he buckled under the ridiculously light amount of pressure. Surprisingly, this was a new emergence that had never been seen in Sasuke. Had it been a few years ago, Sasuke would have never edged away from his firm beliefs. "There's a new carnival coming to town and I wanted to know if he was up to coming."

Shikamaru nodded, appreciating that Sasuke could still take Naruto into close consideration. "I think he'd like that."

Even though, Sasuke would have much preferred to have Naruto in his presence so he wouldn't have to make the consorted effort of repeating himself to them all, there was nothing he could do considering Naruto was presumably not on campus at the moment. God, he hating repeating himself.

He supposed that that he had been so enclosed in his own thoughts that he wasn't really absorbing the arrival of the dog-obsessed boy named Kiba that felt like he had a place here. He appeared to find his idea humorous, more humorous than he should have. "Take Naruto to an amusement park," Kiba said with a hearty chuckle. "That wouldn't be the best idea. He might puke all over the rides."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. A seething snake uncoiled in the acid of his belt of his belly as the tenor in his voice bared a horridly dangerous tone. "What?"

Kiba wished he had had time to bat his hand over his mouth, shelter the storm that he just exacted on their entire entourage.

Shikamaru dutifully stepped in and strong armed Sasuke's shoulder. "Sasuke, calm down."

He could see the downward spiral happening steadfastly and somehow he felt like there was little he could do it stop it.

They weren't the same irresponsible, irrational freshman anymore. Some time ago he distinctly reviewed the physical fight that Kiba and Sasuke had in the past and he felt a feverish headache begin to intently beat against his head. It was brutal, bloody, embroiling the dispassionate civility that once resembled something akin to friendship that had existed between them. As he suspected, the argument involved Naruto and had complicated the blurred felicity of friendship and trust. Unfortunately, he automatically inferred the romantic inclination detonating on the bubble of Kiba's wonder. Sasuke was Naruto's boyfriend for some time, but with the exclusivity that Sasuke shielded their relationship with, gave birth to flourishing mistrust and a steady, foreboding respect for their love. Sasuke had learned to control his temper at Naruto's request. Despite the rumors, no one really knew the real reason why Naruto vacated the school freshman year, not even them, only Sasuke. Naruto corroborated Sasuke's position when he returned.

_He had been ill. _

They no longer openly speculated. Fights and childish disagreements were all but behind them. Or so he thought. Clearly the anger that floated between them was still alive and breathing.

Shikamaru wished for that to change but he knew that they couldn't. They were _supposed_ to reflect the temperament of young adults. And that meant upgrading to a more vast mature plane.

In a brush fire reaction, he prodded the brunet's hand away, deeply annoyed. "No, what the fuck did you say, you asshole?"

Kiba forbade a guise of worry to ignite on his stonewall features, choosing to preserve his impermanent fixity. It wasn't a cloaked enigma to the reason of why Sasuke hated him and to the fact that Sasuke hated him at all.

"What did you mean by that?!" Sasuke wretched, a metaphorical dragon or maybe a full-fledged demon that could be mistaken for an authentic beast that invaded in their immediate surroundings. He responsively tried to push through a solid Shikamaru that stubbornly refused to budge.

The harmful threat was slapped on them so suddenly, no one was ready for the hellion rath that was going to be unleashed on them.

Temari and Ino heard the backlash from the upper level and quickly flew to their feet, interpretation of the commotion coming into clear focus.

The truth had been unceremoniously unveiled.

"Shit," Ino chaotically whispered, leaning into her blonde partner in crime. "Hurry, find, Naruto before Sasuke does."

Temari cringed and then gracefully panicked. "Me!? Why not you?"

Ino full-heartedly glared, conjuring a group of demons from the pits of hell. "What do you mean 'why not me?' Duh, you're in flats!"

Temari felt her head begin to twist into an emotional collapse as she began to recall the battle that they had visually endured between Kiba and Sasuke once before. The bile venom gorged from the two boys as they flailed about the outside dining area, Sasuke emerging as the clear victor. The vice of hateful words and the smear of their crimson blood, still made her stomach flip like a coin.

Shikamaru shuddered; reeking of the fear and trepidation. He knew that a group was beginning to gather around the notorious second floor of their expanding high school. He knew that he had to keep them separated for the time being—or at least until Sasuke calmed down.

Sasuke attempted to lunge at the other daunted junior harbored by Shikamaru. His efforts to clover the teen failed and he was even more angered then before.

"Can't you ever keep your fucking mouth shut?" And the mannerism and the raw implications led Sasuke to the conclusion that there had been some elaborate cover up occurring right under his nose…

And Naruto appeared to be the center piece.

"Fuck you. Fuck all of you!" Sasuke hollered as Temari gave way to her search of the blond haired boy.

…

Temari wasn't dramatic for a school oriented young lady. She always tried to channel her inner humbleness as her eccentric perfectionist personality would allow. Everyone that she wasn't at the same level of her prowess was automatically viewed as a "threat" to her immediate success and eradicated. She wasn't the best at linking with new or differing personalities but she did figure that her friends were about the most important thing in the world to her.

Especially Naruto.

Usually, Naruto, known as the "glue" of their entourage was her metaphorical baby. Regardless that he wasn't literally the youngest one of the group, they all felt defensive over his wellbeing. He was the sweetest and the most caring out of all of them, proving that status, beauty, and the plight of money were not the meridian of life. Love was.

She looked at the small boy that appeared to have wrapped in a haywire, tattered looking appearance in his famed Nike sneakers, gray sweatpants, t-shirt—familiar as his "illness" attire. "Naruto, Sasuke knows about the other day."

Naruto's face paled to a miserly, ghostly white. "What?... How?"

The fickle wind spiraled, bum rushing Naruto's beautiful sea of hair, the gold strands incepting his sight. Temari couldn't withstand the innocence latching onto her eye tissue. She gave an unbeneficial blink and looked away—bidding her soul unworthy of the kinetic pureness. Her voice pulled her out of the depression of undeserving apathy to answer Naruto's adverting inquiry.

"I think Kiba _slipped_."

"Oh my gosh. I should have known better than to tell him," Naruto gripped, frustrated, massaging the back of his neck with an ingrained frown. He exuded a murderously unhappy glare to no one in particular.

He should have expected that this information would get out prematurely, just not from someone that he made promise to conceal from Sasuke. "He couldn't keep his mouth closed even if it was bolted shut."

Temari felt unreserved sympathy for Naruto. This incident appeared to be his hubris—the end of his state of tranquil panic. Whatever reason he planned to hide this from Sasuke, the effects appeared to be detrimental. She dare not ask the implications behind his bold need to forgo this information from Sasuke.

Over the years, she learned to respect their privacy, a shred of security that they often weren't blessed with.

Naruto sighed, letting his hot head cool. "I need to go. Thanks Mar." Naruto juggled his belongings and scurried down the twin flights of stairs.

Temari wiped her brow, theorizing how this situation would escalate if at all. Her memory quickly rebounded to the fight with Kiba and Sasuke—and all her fears came rushing back in…

…

"Naruto, wait up!" The familiarly husky voice echoed behind him. He stopped in his tracks, fear dribbling on his limbs. During his endeavor to become a sculpture, he involuntarily closed his eyes and grasped the dear life out of bag straps. Then he murmured himself a little prayer.

The young man ran ahead of him, halting right in front of him. Repentance stippled his features, his fingers apologetically trembling on Naruto's shoulders. "I didn't mean for it to slip Naruto. It was an accident, I swear."

Cool heads couldn't prevail any longer. "Really Kiba? Do really expect me to believe that?" The fear exploded into unadulterated rage.

"I can't imagine that it just slipped out. What I imagine is that spending the past week and a half reveling that you knew something Sasuke didn't. I should have known better than to think that _YOU_ of all people could keep a secret."

"Naruto, it's not that—"

"Kiba, I'm _**done**_," He whispered in an eerily calm voice. "I would have been better off sharing it with TMZ. I just thought that after all we've been through that you would do that to me." His blue eyes floated to the ground, sudden dejection succeeding his burst of justified anger.

Kiba nervously adjusted his shirt's neck collar, wondering if this was the end of his and Naruto's long relationship, seeing as that he could no longer trust him. After all, he had used the word "done."

Which meant that it was the end of the era that he had cherished.

_Done._

…

_Namikaze Residence_

The tamale tempered woman steadied her hand on the pot handle of the simmering garlic chicken.

She couldn't remember the last time she had a sit down with her best friend. Following the situation with… Serenity, the woman had since become a home-bound introvert. She tried to reach out to her but without resolve. The numerous phone calls and random house visits usually went unanswered. She didn't take the avoidance personally. She knew that the event itself had been more traumatic than the talks leading up to the catastrophic outcome. Reportedly, she hadn't been sighted by a camera lens in months. Kushina feared Mikoto's mental health was rapidly declining in that period of time. She also feared that there was nothing that she could do to stop it.

She thought they could so they could mourn together and possible lean on each other, considering this is a time that they needed each other the most. But if she couldn't capture her attention, and pull her out of reclusion then there was no possibility of healing between them.

"Have you seen Naruto around?" Minato starchily asked flipping through personal mail that arrived earlier this afternoon.

"That depends. Have you paid heed to those divorce papers in your study?" Minato felt his heart clutch at the faux joy oozing from his beautiful wife.

For some time, their once united family had been reduced to bare ruble and no one had taken heed to stop its progression.

He dismounted from the bar stool with a gritty sigh. "This again."

"Yes, this again!" She fumed, chucking the spoon, the utensil nearly colliding with his head. "Sign the _damn_ papers! I don't want to fucking hear your bullshit anymore!" She screeched, her sapphire eyes wild with the caliber of a hellion's wrath.

Minato swallowed thickly, thinking he had avoided the brunt of her physical rage when he had captured her in their early dating stages. Apparently devaluing his foresight and underestimating her temper, he took a step back thinking about approaching her when she had not spent all day marinating in the matter that she was clearly still tender about.

"I'll talk to you later. Y'know. Just later."

She sneered, feeling her ears flare with the heat radiating from the devil's third layer. "You fucking do that. But just know," she said ominously to his retreating back that halted during its full range of motion. "My reaction will still be the same – _LATER_."

…

Dr. Sarutobi stacked this school year's pretests. In a few minutes, he was distributing the dreaded pop quiz. He was just allowing them a small window to study beforehand. There was only one student not taking his advice: Mr. Sasuke Uchiha. He thought about addressing him but he didn't think that would be the best idea. In the passing years, Sasuke had grown to progressively testier as a student and as a person. Although, they never had a particularly close relationship in 9th grade, he still noticed the astronomical difference in Sasuke's attitude. To say the least, he still lacked patience, was snarkier to his peers, and comparatively indifferent. He figured he wouldn't want a smidgen of sympathy, not even a chip of his empathy for his assumed hardships because he was Sasuke. The type to talk about this problems but did want to offer assistance to the boy if he needed someone to lend him an ear.

On the other hand, he just didn't know how to actually offer his help to such a stoic personality without putting himself in the midst of the whirlpool of disorder.

He smiled, shaking his head.

This generations of youths was difficult but he had faith that the boy would find his way.

As expected, Sasuke glared at the teacher for him not studiously reviewing the information for the Chemistry test.

Sasuke grunted abruptly exited the room to make a much needed phone call. He didn't need to stay here to be mocked by some second-rate teacher for not participating in his stupid pretest activities.

Once outside, he reached a place that he felt comfortable, he placed a phone call to Naruto's house.

After a few rings, a strong, feminine voice answered. Sasuke recognized the person to be Naruto's mother, Kushina.

"Is Naruto home?"

She regretfully sighed. "I'm afraid not. I haven't seen him since last night."

"Last night…" Sasuke quietly murmured to himself.

"Why? Is everything ok?" She quickly asked.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Later." His thumb reached for the virtual end call button.

"Sasuke—wait."

The Uchiha paused, mouth forming a thin line.

"I…" She grittily breathed. "I'm sorry for everything. I really am."

Sasuke's face remained unmoved as he ended the call.

…

The small 16 year old boy curled up by the patio door of the pool house, the gleam of the blistering sun beating through the transparency of the window as he shuttered with dread and confusion. He had driven back to the house with break neck speed that he was astonished that he wasn't pulled over and given a ticket for endangering human life. His indigo blue eyes charged from left to right, feeling his panic give rise to paranoia.

Although, it was mid-day, he didn't see reasoning behind trying to obtain a valuable education if he was always hampered with the fear of contact with Sasuke and the dreadful contractions boiling in his lower belly. The flittering pains were much detrimental than the ones he had suffered at the hands of his last pregnancy.

Today, pretending to be alright was a hazard to his thinly stabilizing emotional wellbeing. He had to achieve safety—away from everything. With the twirling of people's suspicions and inquiring whispers. He knew it wouldn't be long now. It was only a matter of time until the sand hardened and crumbled; the relationships that he held as prized possessions would cease to exist. He was just anticipating the fallout and conceptualized the battle that would result from the truth.

"Naruto!"

He shrunk back into the corner of the immaculate window, bubbling with fear, heart shrinking in his rib cage. Although he had been here for hours, he still hadn't mentally prepped for the Sasuke and the arsenal of questions that were sure to follow close behind when they finally conversed about well...

"Naruto! I know you're in here! Open the damn door!" The thunderous thudding carried on, discouraging Naruto even more.

"We need to talk Naruto! You can't run from me forever! Might as well give it up," The Uchiha's muffled tone persisted with absolution. And Naruto knew that he was right. He couldn't conduct this small cat and mouse game much longer. Eventually they would collide and that would only delay the inevitable storm that already shaping up to turn into a horrendous scuffle.

The blond robotically stumbled to the door, emotionally drained and fueled by defeat. With a heavy heart he unfastened the top lock and opened the door.

His current nemesis, reality, was gnawing at the back of his neck as he opened the door and shattered the fences between him and all the torment.

Sasuke stepped onto the ebony and cream foyer, slowly and slightly predatorily, his sleek, iron eyes stapling Naruto's meek figure where he stood.

"Naruto, you've been avoiding me," he bit out bitterly thoroughly clenched teeth. Naruto registered the aggravated tone as one that was unescapable.

"Why?"

"I... I didn't want to tell you that I'm pregnant." He felt the dam of tears burst through the barrier that had previously prevented him from hysterically exploding with grief.

Never in his wildest dreams and his most loony fantasies did he imagine that he would be here, right now trying to disguise the truth from Sasuke once _again_.

Like they were destined to replay this scene again and again like some miserable, jumpy cassette tape.

"Why Naruto? I should be the first person you tell! Don't I deserve that much?" He said, emanating fury, jealousy, and betrayal. Three emotions that he was aware that he had been circulating since early this morning during his run in with Kiba.

Naruto mousily turned away, the perimeter of his eyes lit with the onslaught of an endless amount of crystalline tears preparing to glide down his cheeks. The demon of detestation was rumbling in the cave of Sasuke's cage, motivating his nonfunctioning legs to "I just didn't…"

"You just didn't what? What's your excuse this time?" Sasuke concluded that the commodious time that Naruto had to inform him about his pregnancy copious. The discordant opinions they had on "secrets" always became apparent in crucial moments such as these, flaring like a red flag in front of the bull.

"I just d-didn't want to put you through the same thing… as l-last time. I-I-I wanted to try to save you some of t-the pain… Maybe just maybe I could prevent h-hurting you again," Naruto hiccupped, unfeigned sincerity embroiled in words, razed with unconditional love.

_**Serenity. **_

Like he had been singed with a cattle prod, Sasuke immediately backed off, feeling like he had overwhelmed Naruto with too much.

Had he not even thought about their first born daughter and their previous struggles?

He had a front row seat to the pain, the rage, and the grief caused by the absence of their daughter. He had also experienced it himself. How he could have just dumped all his frustrations out on Naruto?

Losing his cool was not something that was new but he had to admit that he had far beyond crossed the line.

Recalling that, he unexpectedly felt fortunate that Naruto shared this lot of information with him at all.

He had let his anger overshadow any possibility of rational thought. To be so cruel to the mother of his child was…

Suddenly, Sasuke quickly felt his memory trek back to freshman year. Naruto hadn't kept him in the dark, instead it had been their friends who weren't aware of anything. Which meant...

Sasuke's nostrils flared with a flash of frustration. "Wait."

Naruto paused.

"Is there something you're still not telling me?"

Naruto unexpectedly flinched, a gesture Sasuke interpreted as an admission of guilt. Feeling like there was another leg to this story, Sasuke felt his face mold into an accusative expression as he metaphorically reached for his shovel.

**llll**

Next Chapter everybody's characterization will be better explained and the state of everyone's relationship(s) will finally be revealed.

Comments, questions, observations are welcome. I would love to know all your thoughts.

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I love you guys. I'll be back soon, I promise. In the meantime, stay golden.


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